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BRUSH    AND    PENCIL     fe 


Vol.  XII 


AUGUST,   1903 


No.  5 


Frederick  W.  Morton,  Editor 


CONTENTS 


Frontispiece — Landscape      .  -  -  . 

James  McNeill  Whistler — The  Etcher 

Twelve  Illustrations 

Joe — Etching  .  .  .  -  . 

James  McNeill  Whistler — The  Painter    - 

Ten  Illustrations 

The  Funeral  Procession — Statuary 

Battersea — Plate      -  .  .  -  - 

Whistler,  the  Man,  as  Told  in  Anecdote 

Twenty-Two  Illustrations 

An  Arab  Chief — Etching     -  -  -  - 

La  Vieille  Aux  Loques — Etching 

Charcoal  from  Life — Plate 

Gleanings  from  American  Art  Centers    - 

Pathos  of  the  Career  of  John  Donoghue,  Sculptor, 

Art  News  from  the  Old  World    - 

Young  Sophocles — Plate      .  -  -  - 

Books  Received  -  -  -  -  - 


H.    Yoshida 
Frederick    W.  Morton 

J.  McNeill  Whistler 
William  F.  Losee 

J.  McNeill  Whistler 
Frank  A.  Hadley 

John   Charles    Vondroiis 
J.  McNeill  Whistler 
Frank  Ashford 

J.   C.  McCord 

John  Donoghue 


305 

317 
319 
322 

334 

339 
349 
357 
359 
364 
369 
371 
374 


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Vol.  XII 


Brush  and  Pencil 

AUGUST,  1903  No.  5 


^,>'-  i'M  . 


THAMES  WAREHOUSES 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 
Thames  Series  of  Etchings 


JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the  etcher 

The  recent  death  of  James  McNeill  Whistler  has  removed  from 
the  present-day  world  of  art  one  of  its  most  conspicuous,  and  his 
admirers  would  not  hesitate  to  say  one  of  its  most  important,  figures. 
Throughout  the  whole  of  his  long  career — it  is  over  a  quarter  of  a 
century  since  Ruskin  dubbed  him  a  coxcomb  and  a  charlatan,  and 
was  sued  for  his  pains — he  was  before  the  public  eye  a  militant  genius, 
the  supercilious,  scathing  preacher  of  reform,  the  apostle  of  a  pecu- 
liar form  of  modernity  in  which  one  cannot  fail  to  detect  alike  the 
influence  of  Velasquez  and  of  the  Japanese — a  man  unique  in  his  per- 
sonality, aggressive  in  his  methods,  heartless  in  his  ridicule  of  other 
artists  and  of  other  art  than  his  own,  contemptuous  in  his  denuncia- 
tion of  current  vogues,  forcing  admiration  by  his  abilities,  and  at  the 
same  time  loading  himself  with  reproach  and  contumely.  From  the 
days  when  he  first  claimed  public  attention  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
no  artist  was  more  thoroughly  abused  or  more  given  to  abuse.  His 
manners,  his  methods,  his  ideals,  all  excited  antagonism,  and  on  his 
critics  and  detractors  he  trained  with  merciless  force  the  battery  of 
his  unrivaled  wit,  irony,  and  sarcasm. 

And  now  that  the  master  is  gone — for  master  he  certainly  was — 
how  shall  one  estimate  his  contribution  to  his  century's  art,  or  where 
shall  one  place  him  in  rank  among  his  contemporaries?  It  might  be 
a  hazardous  undertaking  for  any  one  at  this  time  to  venture  an  estimate 


609 


3o6 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


of  his  achievement,  or  to  assign  him  a  place  in  fame.  His  reputation 
in  life  was  due  not  less  to  his  pugnacity  than  to  his  painting,  not  less 
to  the  scars  he  etched  on  his  associates  with  gall  distilled  into  bitter 
words  than  to  the  lines  he  etched  on  his  copper  plates  with  acid. 
Whistler,  it  is  true,  outlived  the  period  of  his  greatest  notoriety,  and 
of  late  years  was  comparatively  obscure.  But  the  man  dominates 
everything  he  did,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  that  his  unique  personality 


THE   POOL 

By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 

Thames  Series  of  Etchings 


may  long  have  the  effect  of  warping  the  judgment  of  both  friends  and 
enemies,  making  the  one  more  indulgent  and  the  other  more  censorious. 

This  much,  however,  may  safely  be  said:  His  place  as  a  painter  is 
yet  to  be  determined,  but  his  rank  as  an  etcher  is  fixed — assured  for 
all  time.  The  worth  of  his  canvases  is  and  doubtless  will  long  be  a 
matter  of  cavil  and  question;  his  etchings  are  supreme  among  mod- 
ern achievements  with  the  needle. 

Whistler  in  a  broad  sense  was  a  natural-born  heretic,  whose  pro- 
tests both  in  speech,  teaching,  and  practice — unless  we  make  an 
exception  of  his  etching — ran  to  extravagance.  And  any  review  of 
his  life  and  work  cannot  ignore  the  idiosyncrasies  of  the  man  and 
their  direct  connection  with  his  art. 

As  a  critic,  at  once  appreciative  of  his  genius  and  condemnatory 
of  his  habits,  pointed  out  in  a  public  utterance,  from  the  outset  his 


JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the  etcher 


307 


career  was  perverse  and  paradoxical.  He  began  by  sniffing  at  the 
past  and  gazing  upon  the  present  with  incomparable  freshness  and 
vivacity.  Though  in  painting  he  vaguely  harked  back  to  Velasquez, 
and  in  etching  to  Rembrandt — I  am  using  the  modified  words  of 
another — assiduous  self-cultivation  kept  him  Whistlerian,  Whistlerish, 
in  its  most  acute  implication.  He  was  the  apostle  of  the  personal 
pronoun,     first     person,     singular,     the     incarnation    of     egomania. 


UNSAFE  TENEMENT 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 
Paris  Series  of  Etchings 

Whistler  the  social  mountebank  and  Whistler  the  artist  may  seem 
dissimilar,  but  in  essentials  they  were  inseparable,  identical.  The 
Whistler  of  the  infantile  straw  hat,  long  cloak,  and  hair  dyed  black — 
save  a  chance  curl  in  the  center,  and  that  snow  white,  and  tied  about 
with  a  ribbon — the  Whistler  who  forestalled  caricature  and  parodied 
parody  was  the  Whistler  who  gave  us  such  luminous  nocturnes,  such 
captivating  etchings  and  lithographs,  fragmentary  and  inconsequent, 
but  immortal  in  their  negligence,  which  was  always  just  the  negligence 
of  nature. 

The  artist's  selection  of  subjects,  his  insistence  on  peculiar  color 
schemes,  his  emphasis  of  the  inconsequential,  is  just  what  one  might 
expect  from  the  character  of  the  man.  From  the  outset  of  his  career 
he  was  a  law  unto  himself.      He  studied,  he  taught,  he  worked  in  his 


3o8 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


own  way,  and  by  methods  determined  by  his  own  taste  and  judgment. 
He  renounced  all  academic  traditions,  set  himself  up  as  a  rebel 
in  Paris,  and  consistently  followed  his  theories  to  the  end.  In 
the  matter  of  portraiture  Velasquez  was  his  ideal,  and  it  must  be 
admitted  he   might  have  had   a  worse  mentor;  in  color  schemes  he 

was  captivated  by 
the  subdued  tones 
and  the  flat  stretch- 
es of  the  Japanese, 
whose  influence  was 
just  beginning  to  be 
felt  in  Occidental 
art  circles;  and  in 
etching  he  recog- 
nized the  beauty 
and  approximated 
more  closely  than 
any  modern  artist 
the  principles  of  the 
great  Dutch  master 
whose  work  with 
the  needle  and  cop- 
per plate  is  by  com- 
mon assent  the  very 
apogee  of  etching. 
Candor  compels 
one  to  admit  that 
there  was  reason  in 
all  of  Whistler's  pro- 
tests. How  success- 
fully he  stemmed 
the  tide  he  felt  need- 
ed stemming  is  an- 
other matter.  Cer- 
tainly portraiture  as 
he  found  it  current 
among  the  studios 
needed  the  influence 
he  sought  to  impart;  as  regards  color  schemes,  glare,  luridity  were  the 
acute  accents  of  the  school  with  which  he  was  brought  in  contact;  and 
etching  had  lapsed  from  the  simplicity,  directness,  and  strength  that 
make  the  plates  of  Rembrandt  such  marvels  of  beauty.  Speaking 
broadly  of  his  work.  Whistler's  impulse  was  good,  his  influence  was 
in  the  right  direction,  and  few  of  his  efforts  were  abortive.  Doubt- 
less if  he  had  been  less  flagrantly  abusive,  less  bitterly  condemnatory 
of  the  art   in  vogue,  less  acidulous  and  erratic  in  his  methods,  less 


THE  DOORWAY 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 
Venice  Series  of  Etchings 


JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the  etcher 


309 


given  to  the  poses  of  vanity  and  pretension,  his  power  as  a  reformer 
would  have  been  greater.  As  it  was,  personality  too  often  over- 
shadowed performance,  and  the  fame  of  his  invectives,  his  cynicism, 
his  quarrels,  in  a  sense  took  the  place  of  the  fame  of  his  brush  and 
needle  work.      Ligitimate  reputation  paid  tribute  to  mere  notoriety. 

Whistler's  lien  on  fame,  for  the  present  at  least,  will  doubtless  rest 
upon  his  etchings, 
though  many  there 
be  who  subordinate 
these  magnificent 
examples  of  line 
work  to  his  can- 
vases; and  it  is  of 
his  etchings  that  I 
wish  here  to  speak 
and  to  give  some 
opinions  culled  from 
the  literature  of 
criticism.  In  this 
work,  as  in  his 
teaching  and  paint- 
ing, he  met  strenu- 
ous opposition  from 
those  who  could  not 
or  would  not  under- 
stand him,  and  con- 
sequently were  un- 
willing to  accord  to 
him  the  credit  that 
was  his  due.  Henry 
Labouchere,  the 
champion  of  Truth 
— with  a  capital  T — 
was  wont  to  speak 
slightingly  of  "an- 
other crop  of  Mr. 
Whistler's   little 

jokes."  Frederick  Wedmore,  Harry  Quilter,  and  many  another 
critic  used  to  indulge  in  their  ill-natured  flings.  P.  G.  Hamerton  was 
out  of  sympathy  with  the  master's  art,  and  systematically  damned 
it  with  faint  praise.  In  his  book,  which  has  become  a  sort  of  classic 
on  etching,  he  says  that  Whistler's  art  is  often  admirable,  but  rarely 
affecting;  that  he  was  very  observant  but  not  poetically  sensitive; 
that  a  figure  to  him  was  useful  mainly  because  it  could  wear  clothes; 
that  he  was  a  master  of  line  but  not  of  chiaroscuro;  that  the  light- 
ing of  his  subjects  was  bad  and  that  the  eye  sought  in  vain  for  a 


THE  DYER 

By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 

Venice  Series  of  Etchings 


310 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


ANNIE  SEATED 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


space  of  tranquil  light  or  quiet 
shade  ;  and  other  such  criticisms. 
But  these  manifestations  of 
faulty  judgment  or  of  personal 
unkindness  in  no  way  disturbed 
or  influenced  the  doughty 
Whistler,  In  fact,  opposition, 
even  condemnation,  served  as 
a  tonic.  He  used  to  say  he 
loved  his  enemies  because  their 
adversecriticism  kept  him  busy, 
either  fighting  them  or  proving 
them  idiots.  As  a  matter  of 
fact.  Whistler  was  greater  than 
the  critics  and  connoisseurs  who 
carped  at  him.  He  knew  the 
resources  and  the  limitations 
of  the  etcher's  art  better  than 
they,  and  the  master  can  well 
afford  to  leave  his  plates  to 
refute  the  strictures  that  have 
been  made  upon  them. 

Apart  from  any  considera- 
tions of  technique,  the  fascinat- 
ing power  of  Whistler's  etchings  is  not  far  to  seek.  As  has  frequently 
been  pointed  out,  the  peculiar  charm  of  his  plates  lies  in  their  sprightly, 
casual  veritism,  their  wholesome  indifference  to  academic  beauty. 
Nowhere,  as  a  close  student  of  his  work  has  said,  is  there  the  least 
attempt  to  prettify  nature,  to  provoke  sentiments  other  than  aesthetic. 
His  plates  exalt  the  incidental,  the  indifferent;  they  surprise  beauty 
in  a  dog  straying  across  the  street,  in  the  shabby  shop  fronts  of 
Chelsea,  the  wharves  and  warehouses  of  the  Pool,  the  bridges  and 
barges  along  the  Thames.  While  subsisting  precariously  in  Venice 
on  polenta  and  macaroni.  Whistler  seems  purposely  to  have  ignored 
the  Venice  of  tradition,  of  Turner,  and  of  Canale,  and  gone  about 
ferreting  out  old  bridges  and  archways,  bits  full  of  tattered  indi- 
viduality. 

His  viewpoint  was  always  personal  and  whimsical,  never  literary 
or  pictorial.  An  absolute  master  of  line,  a  subtle,  rapid  workman,  he 
has  recorded  these  scattered  impressions  with,  as  the  same  critic 
affirms,  a  freedom  and  precision  quite  be3'ond  precedent.  The 
Thames  etchings  are  clearly  the  best,  but  they  are  all  enchanting  in 
their  nonchalance,  their  unpoetical  poetry. 

Whistler  was  an  impressionist  after  his  own  peculiar  pattern.  It 
was  not  facts,  but  his  impression  of  facts  that  he  sought  to  record; 
and  be  it   in  painting  or  in  etching,  he  was   always  "faithful  to  the 


JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the  etcher 


311 


coloring  of  his  own  spirit."     Charles  H,  Cafifin,  in  a  study  of  Whistler, 
rightly  emphasizes  this  peculiar  phase  of  the  master's  work.     Said  he: 

"To  one  who  seeks  to  render,  not  the  facts,  but  his  sense  of  the 
facts,  etching  offers  greater  freedom  than  painting.  It  is  the  art  of  all 
others  which  permits  an  artist  to  be  recognized  by  what  he  o?nits,  the 
one  in  which  the  means  employed  may  be  most  pregnant  of  sugges- 
tion, and  in  closest  accord  with  the  personal  idiosyncrasy  of  the  man. 
To  Whistler,  therefore,  with  his  intense  individuality,  his  discerning 
search  for  the  significance  of  beauty,  and  his  instinct  for  simplicity 
and  economy  of  means,  which  will  yet  yield  a  full  complexity  of 
meaning,  etching  early  became  a  cherished  form  of  expression.  In 
the  'Little  French  Series'  (1858),  'The  Thames  Series'  (1871),  the 
'First  Venice  Series'  (1880),  and  the  'Second  Venice  Series'  (1887), 
as  well  as  in  other  plates  etched  in  France,  Holland,  and  Belgium, 
he  has  proved  himself  the  greatest  master  of  the  needle  since  Rem- 
brandt. Indeed,  the  eminent  painter-etcher  and  connoisseur  Sir 
Francis  Seymour  Haden  is  credited  with  the  assertion  that  if  he  had 
to  dispose  of  either  his  Rembrandts  or  his  Whistlers,  it  would  be  the 
former  that  he  would  relinquish."     A  noble  tribute,  if  report  be  true. 

"There  is  a  great  difference,"  continues  Mr.  Caffin,  and  his  dis- 
tinction is  worth  quoting, 
"even  in  the  point  of  view 
between  the  Dutch  master 
and  his  modern  rival.  Both 
approach  their  subject,  if 
one  may  say  so,  in  a  rever- 
ential way.  But  the  former 
with  an  absorption  in  the 
scene  and  a  desire  to  re- 
produce it  faithfully. 
Whistler,  on  the  other  hand, 
with  more  aloofness  of  feel- 
ing, selecting  the  mood  or 
phase  of  it  on  which  he 
chooses  to  dwell  that  he 
may  inform  it  with  his  own 
personal  sense  of  signifi- 
cance. The  Rembrandt 
print — to  borrow  De  Quin- 
cey's  distinction — is  rather 
a  triumph  of  knowledge; 
the  Whistler  a  triumph  of 
power.  While  the  method 
of  both  represents  the  high- 
est degree  of  pregnant  sue-  portrait  of  becquet 
cinctness,  Rembrandt  drew        By  j.  McNeill  whistier 


312 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


the  landscape  while  Whistler  transposes  from  it.  The  visible  means 
in  his  later  etchings  become  less  and  less,  their  significance  contin- 
ually fuller;  and  in  his  study  of  phases  of  nature  he  has  carried  the 
interpretation  of  light  and  atmosphere  beyond  the  limits  of  Rem- 
brandt." 

In  a  catalogue  of  Whistler's  etchings  published  in  1899,  no  less 
than  three  hundred  and  seventy-two  plates  are  listed  and  described. 
This  long  list  attests  the  deep  interest  of  the  artist  in  the  needle  and 
copper  plate;  and  the  variety  of  his  subjects  is  ample  witness  to  the 
breadth  of  his  sympathies.  To  describe  individual  plates  would 
scarcely  be  germane  to  my  purpose,  which  is  to  give  a  general  survey 
of  the  character  and  quality  of  the  artist's  achievement,  rather  than 
to  follow  him  in  the  details  of  his  work  and  discuss  the  means  by 
which  he  produced  his  inimitable  results. 

As  naturally  might  be  expected  in  view  of  Whistler's  productivity, 
his  plates  are  uneven  in  their  excellence,  and  they  differ  no  less 
markedly  in  their  intrinsic  beauty  and  interest.  They  are  all  small — 
a  large  plate  was  to  Whistler  an  abomination — and  they  include  por- 
traits, ramshackles,  landscapes,  wharf  scenes,  doorways,  shop  fronts, 
interiors,  nudes,  still-life,  figure  studies,  bridges,  nocturnes,  palaces, 
street  scenes,  and  in  fact  everything  that  appealed  to  him  as  possess- 
ing the  qualities,  however  commonplace,  that  were  worthy  of  pictorial 
art.  It  mattered  not  to  Whistler  whether  others  could  see  beauty  in 
the  scenes  that  claimed  his  rapt  attention;  indeed,  his  rebel  spirit 
seems  often  to  have  prompted  him  to  the  selection  of  the  most 
unpromising  of  subjects,  as  if  he  wished  by  perpetuating  trifles  in 
artistic  guise  to  show  the  public  what  beauty  genius  could  evolve  out 

of  nothing. 
The  etch- 
ings here- 
with repro- 
duced are 
thoroughly 
character- 
i  s  t  i  c  and 
may  serve 
to  give  an 
idea  of  the 
master's 
art. 

A  citation 
of  opinions 
is  at  least 
cumulative 
in  its  effect, 
and  perhaps 


EAGLE  WHARF 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the  etcher 


3^3 


no  more  satisfactory  wit- 
ness to  the  supreme  excel- 
lence of  Whistler  as  an 
etcher  could  be  adduced 
than  the  views  of  people 
competent  to  pass  judg- 
ment. I  have  given  Mr. 
Caffin's,  and  perhaps  I  can- 
not better  enforce  my  own 
views  than  by  quoting  the 
words  of  two  or  three  other 
students  of  his  work.        ^ 

"Mr.  Whistler's  name 
is,  of  course,  the  first  that 
should  be  mentioned  in  the 
list  of  American  etchers," 
said  Mrs.  Schuyler  Van 
Rensselaer,  shortly  after 
the  first  Venice  series  had 
been  published.  "Though 
most  of  his  art  education 
was  obtained  in  Paris,  and 
though  his  long  residence 
in  England  has  caused  him 
to    be    identified   with     the 

younger  English  school,  Whistler  is  an  American  by  birth  and 
breeding;  and — what  is  of  more  importance,  in  deciding  his  artistic 
nationality — he  is,  it  seems  to  me,  quite  peculiarly  American  in  his 
temperament.  He  is  one  of  the  very  first  few  among  living  etchers, 
and  his  plates  assisted  those  of  Mr.  Haden  in  the  good  work  of  bring- 
ing the  etcher's  art  once  more  into  wide  popularity. 

"Mr.  Whistler  does  not  often  try  for  even  approximate  tonality, 
but  in  individuality,  in  sentiment,  and  in  free,  frank,  artistic,  and 
telling  use  of  the  line  he  has  no  superior  among  the  moderns,  and  few 
equals  in  any  age.  His  work  is  at  times  extremely  strong  and  always 
supremely  delicate  and  wonderfully  vital  and  original.  His  strength 
is  nervous,  brilliant,  and  incisive,  not  massive  like  that  of  Mr. 
Haden's;  but  his  utmost  delicacy  has  never  a  hint  of  commonplace 
or  weakness.  Every  stroke  has  meaning,  and  each  is  set  with  beauti- 
ful skill  and  rare  artistic  feeling. 

"His  earliest  plates — a  series  representing  the  Thames  in  and 
about  London — had  at  the  time  of  their  publication,  some  twelve 
years  back,  a  quite  noteworthy  influence  in  showing  what  may  be 
done  with  materials  essentially  modern  and  supposedly  unpicturesque. 
His  figure  and  portrait  etchings  are  to  me  the  finest  that  have  come 
from  any  living  hand.      Mr.  Whistler  has  stood,  by  fact  of  his  foreign 


THE    BLACKSMITH'S  SHOP— LITHOGRAPH 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


314  BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 

residence,  outside  of  the  main  current  of  the  art  as  developed  in 
America;  but  he  has  had  a  strong  direct  influence  upon  some  few  of 
our  men,  as  well  as  a  stronger  indirect  influence  upon  the  art  in 
general." 

"I  have  told  Mr.  Whistler  with  much  plainness  if  levity  of 
speech,"  says  Frederick  Wedmore,  who  later  grew  to  see  the  folly 
of  his  ways  in  criticising  the  artist's  plates,  "that  when  in  the  Realm 
of  the  Blest  he  desired,  on  meeting  Velasquez  and  Rembrandt,  not  to 
disappoint  them,  he  must  be  provided  with  his  Thames  etchings  in 
their  first  states.  Certainly  it  would  be  a  potent  introduction.  But 
I  am   not  sure  but  the  best  of  the  Venetian  prints  would  serve  Mr. 

Whistler  in  as  good  stead The  Venetian  etchings — 'Venice' 

and  the  'Twenty-Six' — some  people  thought  were  not  satisfactory 
because  they  did  not  record  that  Venice  which  the  cultivated  tourist, 
with  his  guide-books  and  his  volumes  of  Ruskin,  goes  out  from 
London  to  see.  But  I  doubt  if  Mr.  Whistler  troubled  himself  with 
the  guide-books,  or  read  his  Ruskin  with  religious  attention.  Mr. 
Ruskin,  of  course,  had  seen  Venice  nobly;  Mr.  Fergusson  and  a  score 
of  admirable  architects  had  seen  it  learnedly;  but  Mr.  Whistler  would 
see  it  for  himself;  that  is  to  say,  he  would  see  in  his  own  way  the 
Present  and  would  see  it  quite  as  certainly  as  the  Past. 

"The  architecture  of  Venice  had  impressed  men  so  profoundly 
that  it  was  not  easy  in  a  moment  to  realize  that  here  was  a  great  artist 
whose  work  it  had  not  been  permitted  to  dominate.  The  Past  and 
its  record  were  not  Whistler's  principal  affair.  For  him  the  lines  of 
the  steamboat,  the  lines  of  the  fishing  tackle,  the  shadow  under  the 
squalid  archway,  the  wayward  vine  of  the  garden,  had  been  as  fasci- 
nating, as  engaging,  as  worthy  of  chronicle,  as  the  dome  of  St.  Mark's. 

"Yet  we  have  not  properly  understood  Mr.  Whistler's  work  in 
England  if  we  suppose  it  could  be  otherwise.  From  associations  of 
Literature  and  History  this  artist  from  the  first  had  cut  himself  adrift. 
His  subject  was  what  he  saw,  or  what  he  decided  to  see,  and  not 
something  that  he  had  heard  about  it.  He  had  dispensed  from  the 
beginning  with  those  aids  to  the  provocation  of  interest  which  appeal 
most  strongly  to  the  world — to  the  person  of  sentiment,  to  the  liter- 
ary lady,  to  the  man  in  the  street.  We  were  to  be  interested — if  we 
were  interested  at  all — in  the  happy  accidents  of  line  and  light  he  had 
perceived,  in  his  dextrous  record,  in  his  scientific  adaptation." 

"In  the  Thames  plates"  says  Joseph  Pennell,  always  one  of 
Whistler's  most  ardent  admirers  and  staunchest  supporters,  "it  was 
Mr.  Whistler's  aim  to  show  the  river  as  it  was  in  1859,  and  each  one 
of  them  is  a  little  portrait  of  a  place,  a  perfect  work  of  art.  For  the 
rendering,  as  Mr.  Whistler  has  rendered  them,  of  these  old  houses, 
in  which  every  brick  and  every  tile  has  been  studied,  every  window- 
frame  rightly  drawn,  every  bit  of  color  truly  suggested,  is  as  much 
portraiture  and  as  difficult  to  accomplish  as  to  give  the  portrait  of  the 


JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the  etcher 


315 


old  lighterman  sitting  in  his  barge.     [A  phase  of  Whistler's  work  that 
doubtless  rarely  commands  the  consideration  of  the  general  public] 

"So  difficult  is  it,  indeed,  that  but  two  men  in  the  whole  history 
of  the  world  have  done  such  a  thing.  The  one  a  Dutchman  of  the 
seventeenth  century;  the  other  an  American,  happily  living  and  work- 
ing today  (this  was  written  in  1895).  The  one,  Rembrandt,  died 
virtually  uncared  for  and  ignored  by  his  contemporaries;  if  the  other 
lives  and  still  works  it  is  only  because  he  has  the  courage  of  a  great 
artist,  which  has  enabled  him  during  a  whole  lifetime  to  fight  through 
the  insults  and  abuse  that  have  been  hurled  at  him  unceasingly,  from 


COAST   SURVEY 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 
Artist's  First  Etching 

the  highest  critical  authority  in  England — as  John  Ruskin  was  con- 
sidered at  one  time — to  the  veriest  halfpenny-a-liner;  none  was  too 
high  or  too  low  to  revile  this  artist,  the  man  who  certainly — we  all 
know  it  now — will  carry  on  the  traditions  of  art  to  future  generations. 

"Now  everything  he  has  produced  is  perfect,  he  is  told;  but  as 
he  himself  has  said,  if  it  has  been  found  good  to-day,  why  was  it  not 
also  good  at  the  time  it  was  brought  forth?  As  I  have  said,  these 
etchings  are  perfect  portraits  of  the  London  that  we  of  the  younger 
generation  have  never  seen,  but  Mr.  Whistler  has  made  it  so  real  for 
us  that  it  will  live  forever.  We  may  talk  of  Hollar,  of  Canaletto,  of 
Piranesi,  of  Hogarth,  but  not  even  that  master  makes  us  feel  the 
reality  as  Mr.  Whistler  does." 

"That  Whistler  has  a  passport  to  fame,  few  will  deny,"  says 
W.  G.  Bowdoin,  "but  it  is  more  than  likely  that  his  fame  will  be 
secured  because  of  his  etchings  rather  than  his  paintings.      If  Whistler 


.16 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


has   a  serious   fault  where   his   etchings   are   concerned,  it   lies   in  his 

having  etched  too  much Two  things,  it  will  be  easily  seen, 

have  largely  occupied  Mr.  Whistler  as  an  artist,  and  these  two  things 
are  the  arrangement  of  colors  in  harmonious  masses,  and  the  group- 
ing of  light  and 
shade.  This  has 
served  in  an  ac- 
cented way  as  his 
life  inspiration, 
and  the  best  re- 
sults he  has  been 
able  to  secure  are 
to  be  found  in  dec- 
orative  art,  in 
work  not  domi- 
nated by  a  sub- 
ject. Some  of 
Whistler's  finest 
achievements  in 
the  study  of  light 
and  shade  are  to 
be  found  in  some 
half-dozen  of  his 
etchings  that  be- 
long to  that  series 
in  which  the  artist 
portrays  for  our 
curious  pleasure 
thecommon  sights 
and  commonplace 
features  of  the 
shores  and  banks 
of  the  Thames. 
Ouaintnessof  form 
stands  out  boldly 
in  this  series  and 
lends  a  most  pleas- 
ing charm  to  the 
lines  of  wharf  and 
warehouse,  that  present,  theoretically  at  least,  most  unpromising  art 
subjects.  With  originality  and  enthusiasm  has  he  seized  and  fixed 
upon  his  etched  plate  the  delightful  outline  oddities  arising  from  roof, 
window,  building,  and  their  appurtenances  in  the  light  changes  that 
come  and  go. 

"That   Whistler   has   serious   limitations   is   seen   in   his   defective 
figure  drawing,  and  again  in  his  narrow  power,  when  compared  with 


UtiiSU^t 


RIAULT,   THE    ENGRAVER 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


JOE 

By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


f^ 


JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the  painter         319 

the  great  marine-painters,  of  drawing  the  forms  of  water,  whether  a 
river  like  the  Thames  is  chosen,  or  the  restless  sea,  with  its  smooth 
surface  or  its  curling  billows.  Some  of  the  best  of  Whistler's  work 
in  etching  that  preserves  studies  of  quaint  places  that  either  have,  or 
soon  will  have,  disappeared,  and  but  for  these  etchings  would  be  for- 
gotten, are  'The  London  Bridge,'  'The  Little  Limehouse,'  'Bil- 
lingsgate,' 'Hungerford  Bridge,'  'Thames  Police, 'and  'Black  Lion 
Wharf.'  In  these,  at  least,  his  art  has  shown  qualities  that  compel 
admiration." 

I  have  given  this  budget  of  opinions  that  the  reader  may  not 
merely  have  my  own  views,  but  that  he  may  enjoy  the  benefit  of 
different  judgments  and  of  different  viewpoints.  Other  witnesses  to 
Whistler's  pre-eminence  as  an  etcher  might  be  cited,  but  those 
adduced  will  suffice.  Whatever  be  the  ultimate  judgment  as  to 
Whistler  the  man  and  as  to  Whistler  the  painter,  lithographer,  and 
teacher,  it  is  scarcely  to  be  entertained  that  the  decision  of  future 
generations  as  to  his  pre-eminence  as  an  etcher  will  differ  materially 
from  that  of  to-day.  In  the  same  breath  the  work  of  no  other  mod- 
ern etcher  is  to  be  mentioned  with  Whistler's  save  only  that  of 
Seymour  Haden,  and  the  etchings  of  these  two  artists  are  so  unlike 
as  scarcely  to  make  comparison  permissible.  The  name  of  Whistler 
as  an  etcher  has  been  linked  with  that  of  Rembrandt.  It  is  a  com- 
pliment merited  by  achievement,  and  if  everything  else  Whistler  has 
done  save  his  etchings  be  forgotten,  it  is  safe  enough  to  say  his  fame 
will  be  secure  for  all  time.  Frederick  W.  Morton. 

JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the  painter 

The  death  of  James  McNeill  Whistler  recalls  a  prophecy  by  Sheri- 
dan Ford,  which  I  remember  seeing  some  years  ago  in  the  Galignani 
Messenger  of  Paris.  Said  that  clever  versifier,  who  was  more  appre- 
ciative of  Whistler's  genius  than  many  of  the  critics: 

"  For  many  years  the  prints  of  London  Town 
Have  treated  '  Jimmie'  Whistler  as  a  clown, 
While  Yankee  journals  tailed  the  cockney  van 
And  showed  him  as  a  snobbish,  vain  old  man. 
He  's  all  of  that  ;  but  he  is  something  more, 
And  years  to  be  his  prestige  shall  restore. 
When  'Jimmie'  sleeps  beneath  the  daisied  sod — 
In  peace  at  last  with  man  if  not  with  God — 
Then  we  '11  forget  the  '  Jimmie  '  whom  we  know, 
The  vulgar  'Jimmie'  posed  for  public  show, 
Who  proves  m  ways  at  war  with  wit  and  art 
That  workers  and  their  work  are  things  apart." 

There  is  certainly  much  in  Whistler's  career  that  his  best  friends  and 
most  ardent  admirers  would  wish  to  forget;  but,  as  Ford  prophesies, 


320 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


I' 


Vi/r 


FUMETTE  STANDING 

By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 

Showing  Whistler's  Figure-Drawing 


there  is  much  that  his  bitterest  enemies  and  most  zealous  detractors 

will  be  forced  to  remember.    We  may  forget  the  man,  but  not  his  work. 

Whistler's  life  was  really  part  and  parcel  of  his  art,  for  to  him  art 

was  everything — country,  religion,  his  very  existence — and  if  from 

want  of  dignity, 
.;'  lack  of  practical 
judgment,  or  touch 
of  madness,  he  in 
the  opinion  of  oth- 
ers, did  not  deport 
himself  in  a  way  to 
conform  with  the 
majesty  of  the  art 
he  worshiped,  it  is 
after  all  a  matter 
which  we  should  all 
be  willingtoexcuse, 
in  view  of  the  re- 
forms he  inaugu- 
rated and  the  new 
light  he  cast  on 
studio  practices. 

Of  his  fame  there 
can  be  no  doubt. 
We  will  likely  for- 
get, as  Ford  says, 
the  "'Jimmie' 
whom  we  know," 
we  may  even  forget 
his  "  symphonies  " 
and"arrange- 
J-Lr    j<  jMj^//  ments,"  but  we  can 

V     "f^  I  —  ^mi/rif/  never  forget  his  art, 

since,  as  the  fore- 
runner in  a  move- 
ment which  is 
bound  to  spread  and 
perpetuate  itself, 
his  influence  will 
continue  to  be  man- 
ifest in  salon  and  salesroom  in  a  type  of  pictures  superior  in  refine- 
ment and  poetic  interest  to  the  class  of  work  that  obtained  before 
he  threw  down  the  gauntlet  before  the  artistic  world  and  won  the 
battle  he  precipitated. 

Like  many  another  gifted  worker  in  a  good  cause  Whistler  had  his 
rise  and   fall,  his  day  of  glory  and  his  day  of  partial  obscurity.      No 


% 


X  g 
M   o 


fei  •-'  ^ 

t-H      -  CO 

^  B  i) 

9  a  « 
'=^  fe  ^- 

I    1   S3 
•-^  ^  O 

a,  w  ^ 
&< «  z 


JAMES    McNElLL    WHISTLER,   THE    PAINTER 


32. 


artist  of  our  time  achieved  greater  celebrity;  yet  he  outlived  his 
notoriety.  It  is  true,  as  was  stated  a  few  days  after  his  death,  that 
his  fights  with  the  critics,  his  lawsuits,  his  quarrels,  his  debts,  at  one 
time  the  talk  of  Paris  and  the  scandal  of  London,  had  ceased  to  amuse 
the  world ;  his  wit- 
ticisms at  the  last 
were  received  with 
a  patient  smile,  his 
elaborately  com- 
posed letters  with 
a  weary  tolerance. 
His  popular  reputa- 
tion, in  short,  was 
subject  to  the 
changes  that  all 
reputations  endure 
through  flux  of 
opinion,  and  his 
fame  as  an  artist  was 
affected  in  like 
measure.  Received 
at  first  with  indiffer- 
ence, his  work  was 
afterwards  exalted 
to  the  skies,  his 
slightest  produc- 
tions spoken  of  with 
awe  and  reverence 
by  the  crew  of  art- 
students  and  ama- 
teurs, hero-worship- 
ers whose  estimates 
were  based  on  the 
greatness  of  a  name. 
Then  the  reaction 
came,  and  of  late 
there  has  been  a 
tendency  to  under- 
rate, to  belittle,  and 
make  light  of    one 

of  the  last  century's  truest  artists,  one  who  should  not  be  depreciated. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  a  kindness  to  attribute  the  artist's  vagaries  of 
speech  and  action,  as  some  have  done,  to  a  touch  of  madness. 
Guerinsen  long  ago  said  that  genius  was  "a  disease  of  the  nerves," 
and  certainly  the  eccentricities  of  art  point  frequently  to  neurotic 
degenerations,  to  aberrations  from  the  normal,  and  to  symptoms  that 


FOSCO 

By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 

Showing  Whistler's  Figure-Drawing 


324 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


SYMPHONY  IN  WHITE,  No.  Ill 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


are  "conceived  in  spleen  and  born  in  madness."  Whistler  is  a  case 
in  point.  His  career,  as  Joseph  Smith  asserted  a  decade  ago,  marked 
him  distinctly  as  standing  among  the  eccentrics  of  genius;  and  which 
in  his  splenetic  vagaries  showed  him  to  be  hovering  on  the  borderland 
of  madness. 

"While  his  affections  in  art,  his  'harmonies,'  'symphonies,'  and 
'arrangements'  in  blue  and  gray  and  gold  and  green  and  so  on 
ad  nauseam,''  said  Smith,  "might  seem  to  set  him  down  among  the 
Barnums  of  art,  with  the  poseurs  of  the  aesthetic,  Whistler's  work 
shows  him  to  be  a  man  of  undoubted  genius,  a  most  uncomfortable 
and  irritating  genius,  perhaps,  but  still  a  genius  whose  brilliancy  is 
flawed  by  his  aggressive  egomania.  When  we  have  discounted  all 
the  theatrical  'isms'  in  which  he  frames  his  art,  we  are  compelled  to 
recognize  the  fact  that  he  is  an  artist  whose  work  will  live.  No  ordi- 
nary man,  no  merely  artistic  charlatan,  could  make  the  impression  on 
the  age  that  Whistler  has  done." 

And  yet  this  substratum  of  worth  is  what  the  highest  critical 
authorities  in  matters  of  art  failed  to  recognize,  and  the  more  the 
wonder.  In  London  Whistler's  work  was  bitterly  attacked  and  the 
onslaught  was  led  by  Ruskin  himself.  In  "Fors  Clavigera,"  pub- 
lished in  1877,  Ruskin  said  in  a  venomous  manner  of  a  work  of  his: 

"For  Mr.  Whistler's  own  sake,  no  less  than  for  the  protection  of 


JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the  painter 


325 


the  purchaser,  Sir  Coutts  Lindsay  ought  not  to  have  admitted  works 
into  the  gallery  in  which  the  ill-educated  conceit  of  the  artist  so  nearly 
approached  the  aspect  of  wilful  imposture.  I  have  seen  and  heard 
much  of  cockney  impudence  before  now;  but  never  expected  to  hear 
a  coxcomb  ask  two  hundred  guineas  for  flinging  a  pot  of  paint  in  the 
public's  face," 

For  this  Whistler  sued  Ruskin  for  libel.  After  a  trial,  which 
became  almost  a  farce,  the  artist  obtained  judgment  for  one  farthing 
damages,  which  farthing  he  at  once  hung  upon  his  watch-chain.  The 
costs  of  the  action,  amounting  to  nineteen  hundred  dollars,  which  fell 
upon  Ruskin,  were  raised  by  public  subscription. 

The  fact  is  that  from  the  outset  Whistler's  artistic  career  was 
dominated  by  certain  convictions  which  he  seriously  and  earnestly 
offered  to  the  world — which,  it  is  to  be  feared,  he  often  gratuitously 
flouted  in  the  world's  face — and  which  the  leading  spirits  in  the  world 
of  art  at  that  time  were  not  prepared  to  accept.  Impressionism  has 
been  termed  the  century's  most  important  contribution  to  art,  and  in 
a  very  vital  sense  Whistler  antedated  by  six  or  seven  years  Manet, 
Monet,  Sisley,  Renoir,  and  the  other  men  who  broke  away  from 
tradition  and  sought  to  paint,  not  facts,  but  impressions. 


CAPRICE   IN   PURPLE  AND  GOLD 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


326 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


A  word  of  biography  may  here  be  interjected.  Whistler  was  born 
in  Lowell,  Mass.  He  was  the  son  of  Major  George  W.  Whistler,  a 
distinguished  United  States  army  officer  and  civil  engineer,  and  one 
of  the  founders  of  Lowell.  The  date  of  his  birth  is  disputed,  but  is 
usually  placed  at  1834.  He  was  the  child  of  his  father's  second 
marriage,  and  the  eldest  of  five  sons,  but  one  of  whom  survives  him. 
This  is  Dr.  William  Gibbs  McNeill  Whistler,  a  London  physician. 

Since  early  childhood  Whistler  never  visited  his  native  city,  and 
at  various  times  when  he  was  having  honors  bestowed  upon  him  there 
has  been  considerable  dispute  over  his  birthplace,  which  is  sometimes 
stated  to  be  St.  Petersburg.  In  St.  Anne's  Episcopal  Church,  in 
Lowell,  however,  the  record  of  his  baptism  appears.  His  early  life 
included  a  trip  to  Russia,  which  accounts  for  the  St.  Petersburg  fiction, 
and  several  years  in  the  West  Point  Military  Academy,  from  which 
he  was  finally  dropped. 

One  of  several  gifted  students  at  the  atelier  of  Gleyre,  in  Paris, 
he  was  like  Claude  Monet,  August  Renoir,  and  Alfred  Sisley,  whom, 
as  stated  above,  he  preceded  there  by  six  or  seven  years,  in  showing 
no  trace  whatever  of  the  influence  of  that  academic  master.      What- 


x« 


*■* 


SYMPHONY   IN    GRAY  AND   GREEN 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the,  painter        327 


CHELSEA   IN    ICE 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


ever  Gleyre  did  not  do  for  his  pupils,  he  at  least  awoke  in  the  freer 
spirits  that  mood  of  rebellion  and  of  self-discovery  so  essential  to 
individual  development. 

Whistler's  most  famous  paintings  are:  "White  Girl"  (1862); 
"Coast  of  Brittany,"  "Last  of  Old  Westminster,"  and  "Westminster 
Bridge"  (1863);  "Princesse  des  Pays  de  la  Porcelaine"  (1865);  "At 
the  Piano"  (1867);  "Portrait  of  My  Mother"  (an  "Arrangement  in 
Gray  and  Black"),  and  portrait  of  Thomas  Carlyle  (1872);  "Gold 
Girl,"  "Nocturne  in  Blue  and  Gold,"  and  "Nocturne  in  Blue  and 
Green"  (1878);  "Harmony  in  Gray  and  Green"  (1881);  "Nocturne 
in  Blue  and  Silver,"  "Blue  Girl,"  and  "Entrance  to  Southampton 
Water"  (1882);  "Great  Fire  Wheel"  (1883);  "Harmony  in  Brown 
and  Black"  (1884);  and  "Arrangement  in  Black"  (Lady  Archibald 
Campbell)  and  "Arrangement  in  Gray  and  Green"  (Miss  Alexander), 
(1888).      One  should  also  remember  his  portrait  of  Sarasate. 

In  1883  Whistler  received  his  first  medal  in  Paris.  In  1889  he 
was  honored  by  the  Paris  Association  of  Fine  Arts,  in  1895  ^^ 
obtained  the  Temple  gold  medal  P.  A.  F.  A.,  and  other  medals  of 
honor  were  bestowed  upon  him  at  the  Paris  exposition  in  1900  for 
painting  and  engraving.      He  was  also  an  officer  of  the  Legion  of 


328  BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 

Honor  and  honorary  member  of  the  Academy  of  St.  Luke,  Rome, 
and  likewise  an  honorary  member  of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Bavaria, 

So  much  by  way  of  record  of  the  man's  achievement.  But  what 
of  the  achievement  itself,  what  of  the  lesson  he  taught  to  the  world  of 
art  into  which  he  found  himself  thrown,  what  of  his  ideals,  his  prin- 
ciples, his  struggles,  his  victories?  All  these  he  certainly  had,  and 
the  motives  behind  them  are  more  important  to  the  student  of  art 
than  the  facts  themselves. 

The  worth  of  Whistler's  etchings  is  now  a  matter  of  common 
recognition,  and  his  love  and  adoption  of  Japanese  art  is  no  less  v/ell 
known.  What  is  the  connection  between  the  two  and  his  paintings? 
His  sketchy,  suggestive  etchings,  were  accepted  because  men  had 
grown  into  the  habit  of  accepting  spirited  statements  in  that  form, 
which  they  were  not  prepared  to  do  in  the  form  of  oil-paintings. 
But,  as  a  critic  aptly  put  it:  First  the  Japanese,  then  Whistler,  then  a 
multitude  of  artists;  and  the  world  learned  the  lesson. 

Whistler  never  imitated  the  Japanese;  only  learned  his  lesson  from 
them — witty  enough  to  apply  the  lesson  to  oil-paintings,  which  were 
Japanese  only  as  regards  the  basic  principle.  Nothing  could  have 
been  more  opposed  to  the  English  art-doctrines  of  the  time.  Ameri- 
can art-doctrines?  We  had,  as  has  been  frequently  asserted,  none 
then.  It  was  for  this  reason  that  Whistler  lived  in  England,  it  being 
the  only  place  for  such  a  man,  excepting  Paris.  The  American  loved 
his  mother  tongue  too  much  to  make  a  home  in  Paris,  though  he  did 
spend  much  time  there.  He  never  admitted  that  we  had  any  art  love 
in  America.  Had  he  become  less  enamored  of  the  old  country  with 
its  hoary  picturesqueness  and  mature  ways,  this  opinion  might  have 
been  much  modified.  His  love  of  country  was  swallowed  by  his  love 
of  art 

From  the  Japanese  he  learned  brevity  of  statement,  the  abandon- 
ment of  tiresome  realism,  the  decorative  element  rather  than  realism, 
the  virtues  of  abstract  line,  simply  for  the  line's  sake,  a  new  sense  of 
color  and  the  virtues  of  harmony  in  subduing  colors  so  that  the  whole 
picture  should  be  one  note,  however  varied  the  reds  or  greens,  or 
what  not.  And  did  the  artists  of  other  schools  not  give  attention  to 
these  great  truths?  Look  at  the  paintings  of  Gerome  or  Gleyre,  his 
master,  or  Ingres,  the  father  of  them  all,  a  recent  reviewer  suggests, 
for  an  answer.  The  Barbizon  school  was  working  at  this  problem  in 
its  own  way,  but  Whistler  struck  a  new  note. 

His  lesson  to  colorists  was  remarkable — color  for  its  own  sake. 
Here  again  we  have  the  consistent  following  out  of  a  theory — irre- 
spective of  where  it  brought  him,  and  to  the  utter  confusion  of  the 
critics  who  could  not  understand  him.  Candor,  it  has  been  urged, 
should  have  inspired  Whistler  to  seek  admission  to  exhibitions  as 
aesthetically  Japanese.  The  influence  of  Japanese  art  was  just  begin- 
ning to  be  felt  to  the  full  in  the  western  world  when  Whistler  quitted 


JAMES  McNeill  whistler,  the  painter 


329 


academic  traditions  at   Paris,     Up  to  that  hour  strident  promiscuity 

had  been  the  color  vogue  in  reigning  teaching.      Glare,  luridity  were 

the  accents  of  the  schools,  but  Whistler  soon  introduced  a  new  regime. 

Long  unobserved,  he  finally  compelled  attention  by  applying  to 


HARMONY   IN   FLESH  COLOR  AND  GREEN 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


painting  the  principle  of  musical  composition  which  elaborates  its 
theme  in  a  single  key  with  briefer  contemplation  in  closely  related 
keys,  the  modulation  being  almost  imperceptibly  accomplished,  the 
result  a  melodious  accord  with  the  main  theme.  It  is  true  that  the 
vocabulary  of  one  art  serves  but  imperfectly  for  elucidation  of  another 


330 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


art.  But  all  who  have  seen  Whistler's  "Symphonies"  and  who 
understand  music  feel  that  he  was  conscious  of  the  kinship  of  his 
brush-work  to  music,  and  that  he  arose  to  celebrity  on  a  ladder  cor- 
responding to  the  diatonic  scale. 

The  submission  of  his  color  sense  to  Japanese  technique  was  not 
less  obvious.  Glare  and  luridity  were  banished  from  his  canvas. 
Low   tones   delicately   organized    into   fluent   and   superb   association 

became  habitual  with  a  genius 
whose  brilliant  errancy  in  art  proved 
to  be  the  most  austere  Asiatic  or- 
thodoxy and  whose  disdain  of  west- 
ern etiquette  forced  him  to  deride 
a  continental  jury  with  a  letter  ex- 
pressive of  his  "second-class 
thanks  for  a  second  medal." 
Whistler  was  too  earnest,  too  pet- 
ulant, too  conscious  of  the  worth 
of  his  own  discovery  to  brook 
minor  honors. 

To  many  this  application  of 
the  tonic  scale  of  music  to  painting 
seemed  fanciful,  forced,  if  not  un- 
natural. The  public  was  not  pre- 
pared for  such  an  innovation. 
When  he  gave  his  compositions 
such  exactly  appropriate  names  as 
' '  Nocturne  in  Green  and  Carmine, 
"Symphony  in  Rose  and  Gray," 
and  the  like,  many  people  thought 
him  affected  and  merely  a  clever 
self-advertiser.  But  after  a  time 
there  grew  up  a  realization  of  what 
the  painter  sought  to  do.  For  his 
own  ideas,  which  were  almost  in- 
variably distinguished  by  a  patrician  quality  of  thought,  no  matter 
what  the  subject,  this  sensitive  vehicle  of  expression  was  the  only 
possible  one — the  only  form  that  could  convey  the  artist's  precise 
meaning. 

That  Whistler  could  be  robust  as  well  as  exquisite  was  proven  by 
an  early  figure  picture,  "The  Music  Room,"  while  the  portrait  of 
Thomas  Carlyle,  now  owned  by  the  corporation  of  Glasgow,  and 
painted  in  1872,  when  the  venerable  Scotch  fighter  was  eighty-two 
years  old,  represents  the  most  splendidly  masculine  side  of  Whistler's 
art.  Even  here,  however,  and  with  all  the  roughness  and  latent 
energy  of  Carlyle's  temperament  fully  conveyed.  Whistler  has  gone 
at  the  task  after  his  own  fashion.      Instead  of  trying  to  set  the  mark 


LITTLE  ROSE 

By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


» pa 


JAMES    McNeill    whistler,   the    painter  333 

forth  by  sheer  brutality  of  contrasts — to  quote  the  phrase  of  a  recent 
reviewer — as  a  modern  Frans  Hals  might  have  done,  the  artist  relied 
upon  precisely  chosen  effects  to  help  voice  his  impression  of  the 
subject. 

More  sensitive,  because  the  theme  required  it,  is  his  famous 
"Portrait  of  My  Mother,"  one  of  the  glories  of  the  Luxembourg. 
Painted  about  twenty-five  years  ago,  it  has  been  ever  since  regarded 
as  the  most  poetic  and  lovable  of  filial  tributes.  The  picture  is  too 
familiar  for  detailed  description;  who  does  not  recall  that  calm,  elderly 
figure  seated  in  profile,  with  white  cap  on  head  and  hands  folded  in 
lap,  embodying  the  very  essence  of  feminine  poise  and  ripe  experi- 
ence? 

Radical  as  was  the  step  taken  by  Whistler  one  is  not  to  regard  it 
as  dissociated  from  his  day.  An  acute  student  of  his  work  has  rightly 
said  that  his  art  "is  logically  related  to  realism,  to  the  poetry  of  the 
men  of  1830,  and  to  the  motives  of  the  impressionists,  and  represents 
the  wider  influence  of  his  times  in  its  keen  analysis  of  phenomena  and 
the  independently  personal  bias  he  has  given  it;  in  search  for  new 
sensations  of  the  most  subtle  kind  and  in  a  tendency  at  times  to  exalt 
good  manners,  that  is  to  say  style,  above  the  qualities  of  intrinsic 
merit."  It  is  to  be  doubted,  however,  if  Whistler  ever  took  the 
trouble  to  trace  a  connection  between  his  own  art  and  the  art  against 
which  he  spleened.  It  suited  him  better  to  regard  his  work  as  the 
result  of  a  special  revelation  to  himself,  to  put  his  theories  into  prac- 
tice and  let  the  multitude  think  what  it  choose.  Never  for  an  instant 
was  there  the  shadow  of  turning  from  the  purity  of  his  devotion  to 
his  art.  He  felt  within  him  the  sense  of  originality  in  his  conceptions 
of  what  art  should  be,  and  in  no  moment  of  weakness  did  he  swerve 
a  hair's  breadth  from  the  straight  and  narrow  way.  If  this  be  not 
"character,"  asks  an  appreciative  writer,  how  will  you  exemplify  it? 

"Through  poverty,  neglect,  abuse,  contempt,  insult,  and  war  he 
never  varied  in  his  demand  that  mankind  should  learn  the  lesson  the 
god  of  art  had  set  him  apart  to  teach.  Did  the  world  learn  the  lesson? 
Strange  to  say,  it  did.  Let  him  who  will  scoff  at  Whistler;  it  remains 
true  that  he  revolutionized  the  point  of  view  of  the  world.  Probably 
it  would  be  more  just  to  say  that  he  largely  did  so;  because  we  may 
not  omit  to  unite  with  him  those  others,  Manet,  Monet,  and  Degas, 
all  revolutionists.  Faith!  Art  needed  it!  Things  were  pretty  well 
crusted  over  when  these  men  fought  the  good  fight  to  break  through. 

"The  immensity  of  the  revolution  can  only  be  comprehended  by 
those  who  have  given  their  lives  to  the  study  of  art  movements. 
Even  those  who  refuse  to  admit  Whistler's  genius  are  living  examples 
of  this  change  of  point  of  view.  They  deny  Whistler's  while  admit- 
ting other  men's  talent  who  have  built  on  Whistler's  foundation — 
though  keeping  more  in  the  easily  understood  mannerisms  which  are 
not  so  hard  to  comprehend,"  William   F.    Losee. 


WHISTLER,  THE   MAN,  AS  TOLD    IN   ANECDOTE 


It  would  seem  that,  despite  Whistler's  devotion  to  pictorial  art, 
as  painter,  etcher,  and  lithographer,  he  was  throughout  his  life  no 
less  devoted  to  the  gentle  art  of  making  enemies.  It  is  not  true,  as 
some  have  said,  that  his  hand — or  tongue — was  against  everybody, 
and  everybody's  against  him;  but  it  is  true  that  he  delighted  in  con- 
troversy, in  sallies  with  a  ma- 
licious sting,  in  bitter  wit,  and 
more  bitter  sarcasm.  This 
habit  of  mind  was  due  probably 
not  less  to  his  earnestness  than 
to  his  intense  egotism.  Innu- 
merable are  the  stories  that 
have  been  told  of  his  wit  and 
whims;  and  as  many  of  these 
incidents  are  as  eloquent  of 
the  man  as  his  canvases  and 
prints  are  of  his  art,  a  number 
of  characteristic  anecdotes  are 
herewith  given,  which  will  give 
an  insight  into  the  artist's 
manner  and  character. 

A  commissioner  represent- 
ing the  American  Art  Section 
of  a  recent  exposition  was  billed 
to  arrive  in  Paris  to  arrange 
with  the  American  painters 
and  sculptors  there  for  their 
contributions.  He  wished  to 
be  brisk  and  business-like,  and 
so  wrote  ahead  to  several  artists,  stating  that  he  would  be  in  Paris  on 
a  certain  day,  at  a  certain  hotel,  and  naming  the  hour  at  which  he 
hoped  each  man  would  call  upon  him.  On  his  schedule  for  the  day 
was  the  name  of  Whistler,  and  the  hour  was  "4:30  precisely."  The 
note  elicited  from  the  artist  the  following  reply:  "Dear  Sir,  I  have 
received  your  letter  announcing  that  you  will  arrive  in  Paris  on  the 
— th.  I  congratulate  you.  I  have  never  been  able,  and  shall  never 
be  able,  to  be  anywhere  at  '4:30  precisely.'  Yours  most  faithfully, 
J.  McN.  Whistler." 

A  prominent  American  art  dealer,  whose  specialty  is  fine  engrav- 
ings and  etchings,  once  called  on  Whistler  at  his  studio  and  purchased 
quite  a  large  invoice  of  his  etchings.      In  order  to  bring  the  etchings 

334 


PORTRAIT 
By  Rajon 


OF   J.    McNlilLL    VVlilSTLLiR 


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336  BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 

into  this  country  duty  free,  the  dealer  asked  Whistler  to  go  with  him 
to  the  proper  office  and  sign  the  consular  certificate  as  an  American 
citizen.  This  at  first  Whistler  cheerfully  agreed  to  do.  When  the 
time  came,  however,  for  him  to  go  and  put  his  signature  on  the 
document,  he  positively  refused  to  accompany  the  dealer.  Turning 
upon  him  haughtily.  Whistler  said,  "My  signature,  sir,  has  value, 
and  I  positively  refuse  to  put  it  on  any  such  document."  And  he 
did  not.  The  dealer  had  to  pay  the  duty,  and  never  afterwards 
bought  a  print  from  the  artist. 

A  lady  visited  Whistler's  studio,  and  on  looking  over  the  Thames 
series  of  etchings,  with  the  evident  intention  of  complimenting  the 
artist,  said:  "Mr.  Whistler,  your  pictures  do  so  remind  me  of  nature." 
The  artist  replied:  "Indeed,  madam!     Then  nature  is  looking  up." 

A  Colorado  millionaire  went  to  Whistler's  studio  in  the  Rue  du 
Bac.  He  glanced  in  an  interested  way  at  the  pictures  on  the  walls — 
symphonies  in  rose  and  gold,  in  blue  and  gray,  in  brown  and  green. 
"How  much  for  the  lot?"  he  asked,  with  the  confidence  of  one  who 
owns  gold  mines.  "Four  millions,"  said  Whistler.  "What!"  "My 
posthumous  prices,"  and  the  painter  added,  "good  morning." 

A  newspaper  man  once  called  on  Whistler  to  get  some  of  the 
painter's  ideas  on  art  in  general,  and  his  own  in  particular.  "As  you 
are  probably  aware,"  said  he,  "there  are  still  a  lot  of  people  who  are 
at  a  loss  to  understand  either  your  paintings  or  your  etchings.  I 
should  like  to  help  the  world  to  appreciate  your  revelations." 
"Revelations!  I  like  that;  that's  good,"  said  Whistler.  "But,  my 
dear  sir,"  he  continued,  in  quite  a  different  tone,  "that  is  impossible. 
They  would  never  understand.  It's  much  too  high,  too  great. 
Why,  I  myself  am  compelled  to  stand  on  tiptoe  to  reach  my  own 
height,  metaphorically  speaking.  To  begin  with,  you,  my  dear  sir, 
are  nobody;  nothing  from  my  point  of  view — just  a  conglomeration 
of  bad  colors.  Why  on  earth,  man,  do  you  wear  a  brown  jacket  with 
blue  trousers?     That's  like  B  flat  in  G  major." 

One  of  the  best  stories  told  of  Whistler  is  related  by  William  M. 
Chase.  One  day  while  the  two  men  were  painting  together  in  Whist- 
ler's studio  in  London  a  rap  was  heard  at  the  door  and  was  answered 
by  Whistler.  Chase  overheard  the  protesting  voice  of  a  lady,  who 
affirmed  that  she  had  come  on  an  errand  she  had  frequently  attempted 
to  execute.  Her  picture  had  been  borrowed  by  Whistler  two  years 
previously,  had  been  several  times  exhibited,  and  though  she  had 
frequently  tried  to  induce  the  artist  to  return  the  picture,  he  still  kept 
it  in  his  possession.  Now  she  absolutely  refused  to  let  it  remain 
longer  out  of  her  possession.  Presently  the  suave  voice  of  Whistler 
was  heard  in  argument,  and  not  long  after  the  voice  became  more 
indistinct  as  the  lady  was  being  escorted  to  her  carriage.  When 
Whistler  returned  he  was  heard  to  mutter  something  about  the 
absurdity  of  people  believing  because  they  had   paid  two  pounds  or 


WHISTLER,  THE   MAN,  AS  TOLD  IN  ANECDOTE         t,2>7 

three  pounds  for  a  picture  that  they  thereby  owned  it.  The  ridiculous 
element  of  this  speech  never  seemed  to  occur  to  the  doughty  artist. 

Not  long  after  Whistler  had  become  recognized  as  one  of  the 
world's  great  painters,  a  picture  painted  by  him  in  his  early  days  in 
Venice  was  put  on  sale  in  London.  It  attracted  a  good  deal  of 
attention,  and  Whistler,  having  forgotten  all  about  it,  determined  to 
go  and  see  it.  When  he  arrived  at  the  gallery  he  found  some  one 
on  the  point  of  buying  it,  and  two  of  his  friends  were  standing  before 
the  discovery  and  proclaiming  its  merits  in  enthusiastic  terms.  "Did 
you  ever  see  such  color?"  asked  one.  "What  an  exquisite  compo- 
sition!" exclaimed  the  other.  "And  the  beauty  of  outline  and  mar- 
velous tone!"  "And  what  quality!"  "It's  his  greatest  work!" 
They  paused  for  a  moment  as  Whistler  stepped  nearer  the  picture, 
and  looking  it  over  quietly,  said:  "Umph!  It  doesn't  seem  to  be  so 
very  clever.  I  can't  say  that  I  think  so  much  of  it.  Why" — and 
all  the  contempt  he  was  master  of  he  put  into  the  next  line — "it  isn't 
half  finished." 

Whistler  once  heard  a  group  of  American  and  English  artists  dis- 
cussing the  manifold  perfections  of  the  late  Lord  Leighton,  president 
of  the  Royal  Academy.  "Exquisite  musician.  Played  the  violin 
like  a  professional,"  said  one.  "One  of  the  best-dressed  men  in 
London,"  said  another.  "Danced  divinely,"  remarked  the  third. 
"Ever  read  his  essays?"  asked  a  fourth.  "In  my  opinion,  they're  the 
best  thing  of  the  kind  ever  written."  Whistler,  who  had  remained 
silent,  tapped  the  last  speaker  on  the  shoulder.  "Painted  a  little, 
too,  didn't  he?"  he  said. 

Whistler's  Paris  pupils  planned  to  call  on  him  on  New-Year's 
morning.  A  friendly  student,  not  at  all  sure  that  the  artist  would 
like  it,  gave  him  a  little  tip  as  to  the  surprise  party.  "Tell  them 
that  I  never  receive  callers,"  he  exclaimed,  excitedly.  The  pupil 
explained  that  Whistler  wasn't  supposed  to  know  anything  about  it. 
"Are  you  sure  they  mean  well?"  he  inquired,  anxiously,  and  on  being 
reassured:  "Well,  tell  them  I  never  receive  visitors  in  the  morning." 
The  pupils  called  in  the  afternoon  and  found  awaiting  them  a  most 
genial  and  delightful  host.  He  told  stories,  and  showed  them  his 
palettes  to  prove  that  he  practiced  what  he  preached,  and  pictures 
and  sketches  were  exhibited  to  them  never  seen  by  the  public — among 
the  surprising  ones  being  some  allegorical  studies.  He  served  them 
with  champagne  and  fruits  and  cakes,  and  was  most  solicitious  as  to 
their  enjoyment.  One  of  the  pupils  asked  him  how  he  arranged  his 
subjects  so  as  to  produce  the  low  tone  noted  in  his  pictures.  He 
posed  a  visitor,  pulled  over  the  shades  so  as  to  shut  out  all  light,  save 
from  one  window,  and  there  before  them  was  a  living  Whistler 
"arrangement"  ready  to  recede  behind  a  frame,  as  he  says  all  por- 
traits should  do.     This  anecdote  is  characteristic  of  the  artist. 

Receiving  the  award  of  a  medal  of  the  second  class,  Whistler  once 


338 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


thanked  a  jury  for  their  second-class  compliment.  Fretted  by  a  man 
whose  room  he  was  decorating,  he  finished  the  decoration — the 
famous  "peacock  room" — by  painting  two  peacocks,  one  with  a  long 
lock  over  its  brow  to  represent  himself,  pecking  at  the  other  peacock. 

Whistler's  clever 
work  was  a  delight 
to  Professor  Robert 
Weir,  instructor  in 
drawing  and  paint- 
ing, and  a  well- 
known  American 
painter.  This 
aroused  the  envy 
of  the  Professor's 
assistant,  and  he 
watched  for  oppor- 
tunities to  "  call 
down"  Whistler. 
On  one  occasion, 
when  he  was  criti- 
cising the  work  of 
the  students,  he 
paused  at  the  side 
of  Whistler,  who 
was  copying  in 
water-color  a  pic- 
ture of  an  interior 
of  a  cathedral,  in 
which  were  a 
number  of  monks. 
"What  principles 
of  light  and  shade 
are  you  working  by, 
sir?"  he  said,  loud 
enough  for  every- 
body in  the  room  to 
hear.  "There  you 
have  painted  a 
shadow  behind  the 
head  of  that  monk,  and  there  is  nothing  to  cast  it.  What  do  you 
mean  by  that?"  ,  Instead  of  replying,  Whistler  lifted  his  brush,  and 
with  almost  one  stroke,  put  a  cowl  over  the  head  of  the  monk.  The 
assistant  professor  had  seen  the  picture  a  moment  too  soon  for  his 
own  good.  Whistler  having  painted  the  shadow  before  he  painted  the 
object  itself.  This  was  not  an  uncommon  practice  with  the  artist. 
On  one   occasion,  when   a  young  artist   in   London,  his   furniture 


NOCTURNE— BLUE   AND   GOLD 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


AN   ARAB  CHIEF.    ETCHING 

By  John  Charles  Vondrous 

First  Prize  (Baldwin)  N.  A.  of  D.,  1901 


(^ 


WHISTLER,  THE    MAN,  AS    TOLD    IN    ANECDOTE       341 

was  seized  for  debt.  So  completely  did  the  bailiffs  loot  his  studio 
that  nothing  was  left  with  the  exception  of  a  few  of  his  pictures,  the 
beauties  of  which  were  unintelligible  to  the  artist's  unwelcome 
visitors.  The  absence  of  furniture  did  not  in  the  least  disconcert  the 
young  American,  who  promptly  proceeded  to  paint  a  beautiful  set 
about  the  walls  of  his  room.  A  short  time  later,  on  receiving  a  call 
from  several  distinguished  Londoners,  he  invited  one  of  them  to  be 
seated,  an  attempt  which  proved  a  signal  failure,  much  to  the  embar- 
rassment of  the  one  made  a  victim  and  to  Whistler's  supreme  delight. 
Whistler  was  an  American,  but  at  one  time  his  aversion  for  Ameri- 


THE  HOUSE  IN  WHICH  WHISTLER  WAS  BORN,  LOWELL.  MASS. 
From  a  photograph. 

cans  was  so  strong  that,  for  instance,  at  the  Centennial  Exposition 
he  did  not  want  his  pictures  hung  with  those  of  American  artists,  but 
demanded  that  they  be  hung  in  the  British  section.  At  another  time 
he  turned  against  the  English.  It  was  when  he  failed  of  re-election 
to  the  Royal  Society  of  British  Artists.  They  refused  to  acknowl- 
edge that  he  was  an  artist.  He  and  his  friends  then  resigned.  "It 
is  very  simple,"  he  said,  in  explanation;  "the  artists  retired;  the 
British  remained." 

"Allow  my  masterpiece  to  go  to  such  a  place  as  Chicago?  Never! 
And  my  reputation  and  the  dignity  of  the  artistic  profession?  Never!" 
Whistler  is  credited  with  having  made  this  vehement  remark  when 
Mrs.  Harold  Peck  asked  him  in  1896  to  ship  to  Chicago  a  painting  of 


342 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


Miss  Marion  Peck, 
executed  by  the 
artist  in  Paris  and 
London  under 
romantic  circum- 
stances. The  fact 
that  Miss  Peck  gave 
him  more  than 
ninety  sittings  for 
thej;^  picture,  and 
that  the  artist's 
price  for  it  was  paid 
promptly  upon  its 
completion,  adds  a 
flavor  to  the  story 
which  makes  it 
worthy  of  preserva- 
tion  as  a  real 
Whistler  master- 
piece. The  picture 
was  begun  at  the 
Paris  studio  of 
Whistler  shortly 
after  Mrs.  Peck  and 
her  daughter  went 
abroad.  When  they 
were  in  London 
the  last  exactions 
were  complied  with, 
and  the  portrait  was 
finished  beyond 
even  the  author's 
cavil.  It  delighted 
the  patrons  as  much  as  it  did  the  artist.  Then  being  about  to  return 
home,  Mrs.  Peck  spoke  of  sendmg  it  to  Chicago.  "Send  it  to  Chi- 
cago!" the  painter  gasped.  Separation  from  his  creation  probably 
entered  the  Whistler  mind  for  the  first  time  and  with  a  pang.  He 
forgot  possibly  that  he  had  months  ago  accepted  a  generous  price 
for  it.  "Allow  my  masterpiece  to  go  to  such  a  place  as  Chicago? 
Never!  And  my  reputation  and  the  dignity  of  the  artistic  profession? 
Never!" 

Chase  once  urged  him  to  stop  work  and  get  off  to  a  dinner  party 
where  he  was  pledged.  It  did  not  move  the  man  to  be  told  that  the 
dinner  was  growing  cold  and  the  guests  were  waiting  for  the  lion. 
He  uttered  inarticulate  grunts  and  painted  on  while  Chase  scolded. 
Finally  Whistler  turned  around  and  said:  "Chase,  what  a  nuisance 


LADY  EDEN 

By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


WHISTLER,  THE    MAN,  AS    TOLD    IN    ANECDOTE       343 


you  are!     The   idea  of  leaving  a   beautiful   thing  like   this  to   go  eat 
with  people!"   Showing  Whistler's  love  of  art  and  contempt  of  people. 

The  story  is  told  of  Whistler's  being  sent  out  on  one  occasion  to 
make  a  drawing  for  the  United  States  coast  survey.  The  set  task 
being  done,  he  amused  himself  with  sketches  on  the  margin  of  the 
plate.  The  sketches  were  unnoticed  until  the  printing  of  the  coast 
drawing,  when  an  indignant  officer  called  the  young  artist  up  for 
reprimand.  As  the  sketches  were  so  much  better  than  the  mechani- 
cal exercise,  Whistler  decided  on  an  artistic  career  and  shortly  after- 
ward went  abroad. 

Once  Whistler  paid  a  visit  to  Sir  Alma  Tadema,  the  artist.  On 
the  night  of  his  arrival  Whistler's  host  announced  that  he  intended  to 
give  a  breakfast  next  morning.  "There  will  be  a  number  of  ladies 
present.  Whistler,"  he  said,  "and  I  want  you  to  pull  yourself  together 
and  look  your  best."  "All  right,"  said  Whistler.  Early  the  next 
morning  Whistler's 
voice  was  heard  ringing 
through  the  magnifi- 
cent halls  of  the 
Tadema  mansion. 
"Tadema!  Tadema! 
I  want  you,  Tadema!" 
Thinking  nothing  less 
than  fire.  Sir  Alma 
rushed  to  the  room 
of  his  guest.  "For 
heaven's  sake.  Whist- 
ler, what's  the  matter? 
You've  waked  up  every 
one  in  the  house.  What 
is  it?"  "Oh,  don't  get 
so  excited,  Tadema," 
drawled  Whistler;  "I 
only  wanted  to  know 
where  you  kept  the 
scissors  to  trim  the 
fringe  off  cuffs  with. 
Thought  you  wanted 
me  to  pull  myself  to- 
gether for  the  ladies." 
On  one  occasion 
Whistler  submitted  an 
article  at  the  request  of 
an  editor.     The  editor 

returned   it    to   him    to        the  lange  leizen 
revise.     The  next  day        By  j.  McNeiii  whistier 


^ 


344 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


the  article  came  back  unchanged,  but  appended  was  the  note,  "Who 
am  I,  that  I  should  tamper  with  a  masterpiece?"  Egotism  prevailed. 
Like  many  jokers,  he  could  not  take  a  joke  when  it  was  on  him- 
self. This  Du  Maurier,  the  author  of  "Trilby,"  found  out  when  the 
story  was  running  serially.  In  the  third  installment  of  the  story  Du 
Maurier  had  introduced  a  lifelike  caricature  of  Whistler  under  the 
name  of  Joe  Sibley.  In  the  text  that  accompanied  the  sketch  Du 
Maurier  described  Sibley  as  a  young  man  with  "beautiful  white  hair 
like  an  albino's,  as  soft  and  bright  as  floss  silk,"  and  as  "tall  and 
slim  and  graceful,  and  like  most  of  the  other  personages  concerned 
in  this  light  story,  nice  to  look  at,  with  pretty  manners  (and  an  unim- 
peachable moral  tone)."  Sibley  had,  said  Du  Maurier,  "but  one 
god,"  whose  praises  he  perpetually  was  singing,  and  who  was  that 
god?  "Sibley  was  the  god  of  Joe's  worship,  and  none  other,  and  he 
would  hear  of  no  other  genius  in  the  world."      Whistler  took  great 

umbrage  at  this 
description  of  Joe 
Sibley,  and  pub- 
lished a  wrathful 
letter  denouncing 
his  old  friend  as 
an  ingrate.  The 
passages  had  to  be 
eliminated  by  the 
publishers. 

One  day  when 
Whistler  was  wear- 
ing the  cap  and 
bells,  he  turned  sud- 
denly upon  Chase 
and  declared  his 
intention  of  going 
back  to  London  and 
having  made  for 
him  a  white  hansom 
with  canary-colored 
wheels  and  canary 
satin  linings.  He 
would  petition  the 
city  authorities  for 
the  privilege  of  at- 
taching one  lamp  to 
this  vehicle,  and  of 
surmounting      the 

HARMONY  IN  GREEN  AND  ROSE  lamp    With    a    whltC 

By  J.  McNeill  Whistler  plume.     In  triumph 


WHISTLER,  THE    MAN,  AS    TOLD    IN    ANECDOTE        345 


he  cried,  "I  shall  then  be 
the  only  and  supreme  one. ' ' 

When  Whistler  won  in 
his  libel  suit  against  Ruskin 
the  farthing  which  he 
promptly  hung  upon  his 
watch  chain,  and  the  British 
public  subscribed  the  nine- 
teen hundred  dollars  costs 
which  fell  upon  Ruskin, 
one  of  the  subscribers  ex- 
claimed that  ten  times  the 
amount  would  not  have 
been  too  much  for  the 
public  to  pay  for  the  enter- 
tainment the  suit  afforded 
them,  and  he  expressed  the 
feelings  of  many  people  in 
those  words. 

In  the  course  of  this 
celebrated  lawsuit,  the 
lawyer  asked  Whistler  how 
long  it  took  him  to  "knock 
off"  a  nocturne,  and  when 
the  lawyer  condescendingly 
explained  that  he  was  using 
words  that  applied  to  his 
own  work,  Whistler  re- 
plied: "I  am  very  much 
flattered  to  think  you  apply 
to  a  work  of  mine  any  term 
that  you  are  in  the  habit 
of  using  when  referring  to 

your  own.  As  I  remember,  it  took  me  about  a  day  to  'knock  off' 
that  nocturne."  "And  you  ask  two  hundred  guineas  for  a  day's 
work?"  "No,"  replied  Whistler,  "I  ask  it  for  the  knowledge  of  a 
lifetime." 

Chase  once  urged  Whistler  to  keep  an  important  engagement  with 
an  American  traveling  in  England  and  limited  for  time.  The  engage- 
ment involved  important  financial  business  for  the  artist;  but  he  could 
scarcely  be  torn  from  the  easel.  When  work  was  suspended,  much 
time  was  expended  on  the  usual  elaborate  toilet,  and  the  two  finally 
set  forth,  Whistler  carrying  the  slender  wand  made  famous  by  Du 
Maurier's  caricature.  This  time  it  v%as  used  to  prod  the  horse  that 
dragged  their  hansom.  After  traveling  long  stretches  of  London 
streets  and  nearly  reaching  the  end  of  the  journey.  Whistler  suddenly 


JAPANESE  LADY 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


346  BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 

ordered  the  cabman  to  turn  about  and  retrace  many  steps,  then  to 
thread  in  and  out  odd  streets,  Chase  sulkily  protesting,  until  he 
ordered  the  driver  to  draw  up  before  a  green-grocer's.  "There!" 
said  the  enthusiastic  artist,  "there  is  a  bit  of  color  for  you!  That's 
fine!  Only  I  shall  have  that  box  of  oranges  placed  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  doorway.  I  shall  come  and  do  that  some  time"  Then 
when  the  mood  had  passed  the  journey  was  resumed. 

On  one  occasion  Whistler  was  commissioned  by  Sir  William  Eden 
to  paint  a  portrait  of  Lady  Eden,  and  this  portrait,  when  finished, 
was  exhibited  in  the  Champ  de  Mars  salon  in  Paris.  Sir  William  sent 
to  Whistler  one  hundred  guineas,  which  was  duly  acknowledged,  but 
instead  of  sending  on  the  portrait  Whistler  painted  out  the  face  in  the 
portrait  and  announced  himself  insulted  by  the  paltry  amount  sent 
him.  Sir  William  then  instituted  a  suit  against  him,  which  resulted 
in  a  judgment  directing  the  artist  to  restore  the  picture,  return  the 
one  hundred  guineas  with  five  per  cent  interest,  and  pay  seven  hun- 
dred dollars  damages  and  costs.  The  picture,  when  completed  for  a 
second  time,  was  one  of  the  artist's  masterpieces. 

A  pupil  of  feeble  powers,  but  limitless  patience  and  confidence, 
having  worked  indefatigably  at  a  study  one  day,  felt  that  she  had 
accomplished  something  sure  to  win  the  master's  approval.  She 
looked  up  smilingly  and  trustfully  as  he  approached.  He  paused 
behind  her  chair.  "Scrape  it  out,  madam,  scrape  it  out!"  he  ejacu- 
lated, brusquely,  and  passed  on. 

When  the  gravest  bulletins  were  being  issued  concerning  the  health 
of  Whistler,  the  Morning  Post  printed  some  reminiscent  criticisms 
which  suggested  a  biography.  That  morning  the  Post  also  printed  a 
letter  from  Whistler,  at  The  Hague,  written  in  a  most  characteristic 
vein,  thanking  the  paper  for  "the  flattering  attention  paid  me  by  your 
gentlemen  of  ready  wit  and  quick  biography.  It  is  almost  with  sor- 
row that  I  beg  3^ou  to  put  it  back  into  the  pigeonhole."  He  added 
that  this  would  give  the  critic  time  to  correct  some  of  the  errors. 
Whistler  meanwhile  apologized  for  "continuing  to  wear  my  own  hair 
and  eyebrows  after  my  distinguished  confreres  and  eminent  persons 
have  long  ceased  the  habit.  It  is  even  found  inconsiderate  and 
unseemly  in  me,  as  hinting  at  affectation."  Finally  he  asked  that 
the  premature  tablet  be  withdrawn,  because  "I  have  lurking  in  Lon- 
don still  a  friend,  though  for  the  life  of  me  I  cannot  remember  his 
name." 

In  the  earl3rstudent  days  of  tfie  Latin  quarter.  Whistler,  bereft  of 
all  but  his  one  suit  of  clothes,  got  a  commission  to  copy  a  picture  in 
the  Louvre.  Accordingly  he  went  early,  and  when  the  door  was 
opened  to  the  room  where  the  painters'  supplies  were  stored,  he 
selected  a  suitable  canvas  and  palette,  never  inquiring  as  to  owner- 
ship, posted  himself  before  the  picture  he  was  to  do,  and  studied  it 
carefully  while  the  other  artists  were  setting  up  their  easels.     Then  he 


WHISTLER,  THE    MAN,  AS    TOLD    IN    ANECDOTE        347 

sauntered  jauntily  up  to  a  neighbor  and  fell  into  conversation  with 
him,  meanwhile  helping  himself  to  what  colors  he  needed  from  the 
palette  of  the  man  before  him.  The  bull  had  been  taken  so  boldly 
by  the  horns  that  the  despoiled  artist  only  grinned  and  said  nothing. 
Whistler's  methods  of  teaching  were  original.      He  laid  little  stress 


PORTRAIT  OF  MY  MOTHER 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 
In  the  Luxembourg 

on  drawing.  He  hated  and  despised  academic  treatment.  He  wanted 
the  pupil  to  paint.  A  few  careful  charcoal  strokes  on  the  canvas  as 
a  guide,  the  rest  to  be  drawn  on  with  brush  and  color.  And  he 
preached  simplicity — as  few  tones  as  possible,  as  low  as  possible. 
But  it  is  painful  to  record  that  the  endeavors  of  a  certain  proportion 
of  the  class  to  attempt  the  achievements  of  the  master  in  this  respect 
resulted  in  a  unique  crop  of  posters.  The  constant  theme  of  his  dis- 
course was  "mixtures."  He  advised  a  pupil  to  get  first  on  his  palette 
a  correct  and  sufficient  mixture  of  each  tone  required  for  his  picture. 


348 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


Often  he  would  give  a  long  criticism  without  so  much  as  glancing  at 
the  canvas — a  criticism  on  the  mixtures  he  found  on  the  pupil's  palette; 
and  he  himself  would  work  indefinitely  at  the  colors,  using  up  great 
"gobs"  of  paint,  and  all  the  while  talking,  till  it  appeared  to  him  to 
be  satisfactory.     Color,  color,  color  was  the  great  point  emphasized. 

On  a  Holland 
trip  some  canvases, 
that  had  been  ex- 
pressed to  a  point 
where  .  sketching 
had  been  planned, 
failed  to  arrive  at 
the  expected  time. 
The  fame  of  the 
artist  was  well  estab- 
lished there,  and  the 
honor  of  his  visit 
appreciated.  The 
ofificial  of  the  ex- 
press company 
offered  his  apology 
for  the  inconve- 
nience caused  by 
the  delay,  and 
begged  to  know  if 
the  canvases  were 
valuable.  Whistler, 
magnificently  re- 
sponsive to  the 
man's  solicitude, 
said:  "Not  yet; 
not  yet!" 

Allied  with  these 
anecdotes  is  the  less 
known  or  perhaps 
unknown  reply 
Whistler  made  to  a 
lady  who  met  him 
at  the  Royal  x\cademy  and  expressed  her  surprise  at  seeing  him  in  a 
place  he  was  reported  never  to  enter.  "Well,"  retorted  Whistler, 
"one  must  do  something  to  add  interest  to  the  show;  so  here  I  am." 
A  certain  inflated  and  ornamental  colonel  of  volunteers,  and 
unknown  to  the  Beefsteak  Club,  was  airing  his  importance  one  even- 
ing at  the  Grosvenor  Gallery  reception.  The  company  were  waiting 
for  the  Prince  of  Wales.  The  colonel,  standing  behind  Whistler,  sud- 
denly expanded  his  chest,  and  in  a  manner  calculated  to  be  impress- 


ROTHERHITHE 

By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 
Thames  Series  of  Etchings 


LA  VIEILLE  AUX  LOQUES 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 
French  Series  of  Etchings 


WHISTLER,  THE    MAN,  AS    TOLD    IN    ANECDOTE        351 

ive,  and  to  call  the  guests  to  "attention,"  exclaimed:  "The  prince, 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  the  prince!"  Whistler  turned,  and  said  with 
his  inimitable  chuckle,  "Couldn't  help  it,  friend,  could  you?"  The 
bystanders  smiled,  the  colonel  looked  uneasy.  "Sir,"  said  he,  "I 
saw  over  your  head."  "Sir,"  retorted  the  ready  McNeill  "over  my 
head  there  is  nothing." 

Whistler  was  once  requested  to  leave  the  boarding-house  of  a  lady 
who  took  great  pride  in  a  portrait  she  had  of  her  son,  who  had  been 
killed.  After  he  had  been  dismissed  the  artist  spent  one  afternoon 
in  the  parlor.  He  stood  up  before  the  picture,  clasping  his  hands  and 
showing  all  the  signs  of  amazed  admiration,  just  as  one  of  the  land- 
lady's daughters  entered.  Appearing  very  much  embarrassed  at  being 
thus  discovered,  he  stammered:  "You  will  excuse  me,  Miss  Amelia, 
won't  you,  for  my  forwardness  in  thus  intruding,  but  I  could  not 
help  it.  You  know  how  I  love  art,  and  a  great  work  like  this  makes 
me  almost  speechless.  How  noble  that  face  is!  and  how  exquisite  is 
the  color!  What  a  splendid  eye!  What  a  magnetic  countenance!  I 
hope  you  won't  think  my  admiration  of  it  an  impertinence!"  He 
did  not  leave  the  house,  it  is  needless  to  say. 

One  day  on  entering  his  class-room  he  discovered  that  a  red  back- 
ground had  been  arranged  behind  the  model.  He  was  horrified,  and 
directed  the  students  to  put  up  something  duller  in  tone.  Then  he 
scraped  out  the  red  paint  on  a  pupil's  canvas  and  proceeded  to  mix 
and  lay  on  a  new  background.  Somehow  the  red  would  show 
through,  and  he  found  it  difficult  to  satisfy  himself  with  the  effect  he 
produced.  He  mixed  and  studied  and  scraped,  working  laboriously, 
surrounded  by  a  group  of  admiring  students.  Finally  he  remarked: 
"I  suppose  you  know  what  I'm  trying  to  do?"  "Oh,  yes,  sir,"  they 
chorused.  "Well,  it's  more  than  I  know  myself,"  he  grimly 
replied. 

In  regard  to  the  use  of  the  flat  tones  and  the  preparartion  of  cor- 
rect mixtures  in  large  quantities  Whistler  often  remarked:  "House- 
painters  have  the  right  idea  about  painting,  God  bless  them!" 

Whistler  once  said  in  conversation:  "Yes,  I  have  many  friends 
and  I  am  grateful  to  them;  but  those  whom  most  I  love  are  my  ene- 
mies— not  in  a  biblical  sense;  oh,  no!  3ut  because  they  keep  one 
always  busy,  always  up  to  the  mark,  either  fighting  them  or  proving 
them  to  be  idiots." 

Once  in  a  criticism  he  took  the  brush  from  a  pupil's  hand,  and 
with  one  careful  stroke  painted  in  an  upper  lip;  so  true  was  the 
modeling,  so  skillful  the  brush-work,  that  all  the  hardness  and  round- 
ing of  the  teeth  beneath,  the  indentation  of  the  center  of  the  lip,  and 
the  subtle  connection  at  the  nostril  were  faithfully  reproduced;  with 
a  touch  of  his  thumb  he  joined  lip  and  cheek.  The  students  stood 
around  breathless  with  admiration.  No  man  other  than  Velasquez 
and  Whistler  could  have  equaled  the  performance,  and  they  knew  it 


352 


BRUSH   AND   PENCIL 


— and    Whistler    knew    it,    as    he    smilingly    passed    on,    appearing 

unfeignedly  proud  of  his  achievement.      He  loved  such  exhibitions. 

On  one  occasion  he  had  been  asked  to  a  reception,  given  by  Sir 

Henry  Irving,  and  the  actor, 
on  seeing  the  artist  enter  the 
house,  greeted  him  effusively, 
and  remarked  that  among  his 
choicest  possessions  was  one 
of  Mr.  Whistler's  paintings. 
On  being  taken  to  it,  Whistler 
studied  it  carefully,  and  turn- 
ing to  his  host,  remarked: 
"Very  good,  indeed;  but  you 
may  not  have  noticed  that 
you've  hung  it  upside  down." 
On  another  occasion  at  a 
dinner  a  critic  said  in  Whist- 
ler's hearing,  meaning  to  be 
sarcastic,  that  the  two  greatest 
masters  of  art  in  the  world 
were  Velasquez  and  Whistler. 
"Why,"  drawled  Whistler, 
across  the  table — *'why  drag 
in  Velasquez?" 

Whistler  used  to  tell  this 
story  about  one  of  his  paint- 
ings on  exhibition  at  the  Art 
Building  at  the  World's  Fair: 
"The  painting  had  for  its  sub- 
ject presumably  a  young 
woman,  also  presumably  pos- 
sessed of  all  the  attributes 
which  make  young  women 
impress  us  as  they  do," 
Whistler  said.  "Two  people 
were  standing  before  the  pic- 
ture one  day.  One  was  in- 
structing the  other.  'But 
what  is  it?'  saj's  the  first,  'is 
it  a  woman?'  'Oh,  no,' 
answers  the  other,  'it  is  only 
Whistler's  idea  of  a  woman.'"  Whistler  thought  the  incident  rich. 
One  time  in  Paris  a  beautiful  model  who  had  managed  to  hold  her 
peace  while  she  was  posing,  suddenly  asked:  "Where  were  you 
born?"  "1  never  was  born,  my  child;  I  came  from  on  high."  This 
was  once  when  Whistler  got  back  the  change.     The  model  retorted 


ARRANGEMENT  IN  BLACK  AND  BROWN 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


WHISTLER,  THE    MAN,  AS    TOLD    IN    ANECDOTE       353 


instantly:  "Now,  that  just  shows  how  easily  we  deceive  ourselves  in 
this  world.  I  should  much  sooner  have  said  that  you  came  up  from 
below."     The  turn  was  so  cleverly  made  that  it  amazed  the  artist. 

As  is  well  known, 
Whistler's  professional,  as 
well  as  legal  signature,  was 
a  butterfly.  It  appeared 
on  his  paintings  and  was 
the  only  signature  recog- 
nized at  his  bank.  Auto- 
graph fiends  schemed  in 
vain,  and  would  have  paid 
handsomely  for  Whistler's 
autograph  in  script.  One 
day  the  painter  was  visited 
in  his  studio  by  a  Jew,  who 
appeared  to  be  very  angry. 
He  had  received  Whistler's 
check  for  five  dollars,  and 
wrathfully  demanded  a 
proper  signature,  that 
would  draw  the  money  at 
the  bank.  Whistler,  gen- 
uinely enraged  at  the 
thought  that  there  could 
be  any  one  so  ignorant  as 
not  to  know  about  the 
famous  butterfly,  wrote  his 
name  on  the  check,  know- 
ing that  the  bank  would 
refuse  it.  The  next  day 
the  painter  was  furious  on 
learning  that  within  an 
hour  the  Jew  had  sold  the 
rare  signature  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars — 
a  clear  gain  of  two  hundred 
and  forty-five  dollars. 

Oscar  Wilde  and  Whist- 
ler were  once  bosom  friends 
— united  by  their  common 
eccentricities.     It  is  known 

that  W.  S.  Gilbert  modeled  his  fleshly  Bunthorne  upon  these  two, 
adding  a  dash  of  Algernon  Charles  Swinbourne  to  give  zest.  Once 
the  apostle  of  the  lily  and  sunflower  wrote  to  his  brother  aesthetic: 
"When  you  and  I  are  together  we  never  talk  about  anything  except 


HARMONY  IN  PINK  AND  GRAY 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 


354  BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 

ourselves."  To  which  Whistler  did  not  neglect  to  reply:  "No,  no, 
Oscar,  you  forget.  When  you  and  I  are  together  we  never  talk  about 
anything  except  me." 

The  art  critic  ever  touched  the  spring  of  Whistler's  deepest  bitter- 
ness. Of  Ruskin's  "high-sounding,  empty  things,"  he  wrote  that 
"they  would  give  Titian  the  same  shock  of  surprise  that  was  Balaam's 
when  the  first  great  critic  proffered  his  opinion." 

Frederick  Wedmore,  a  critic,  complained  that  Whistler  had 
treated  him  unfairly  in  a  quotation  from  his  writings.  Whistler  had 
substituted,  he  said,  "understand"  for  "understate."  "My  care- 
lessness is  culpable,"  wrote  Whistler;  "the  misprint  is  without  excuse. 
I  have  all  along  known  that  with  Mr.  Wedmore,  as  with  his  brethren, 
it  is  always  a  matter  of  understating  and  not  at  all  of  understanding." 
When  Taylor  the  critic  died,  "I  have  hardly  a  warm  personal  enemy 
left,"  sorrowed  Whistler. 

Rossetti  once  showed  Whistler  a  sketch.  Whistler  praised  it  and 
bade  Rossetti  go  on  with  it.  Later  Rossetti  went  into  ecstasies  over 
his  painting  himself  and  brought  it  to  Whistler  to  show  him  how 
beautiful  it  had  become.  Whistler  said  that  apparently  nothing  had 
been  done  upon  it  further,  and  Rossetti  acknowledged  that  that  was 
so,  but  he  had  written  a  sonnet  upon  it,  which  he  proceeded  to  read 
to  Whistler,  according  to  one  of  the  stories  which  Sheridan  Ford  tells 
in  his  personally  conducted  edition  of  "The  Gentle  Art."  When  the 
reading  ceased:  "Rossetti,"  said  Whistler,  "take  the  picture  out  and 
put  the  sonnet  in  the  frame.' 

Yet  this  strange  genius  could  be  a  courtier.  He  had,  as  presioent 
of  the  Royal  Society,  obtained  for  it  a  royal  charter,  which  the  society 
had  never  before  had.  When  the  Prince  of  Wales,  now  King  Edward, 
paid  his  first  visit  to  the  society's  galleries  after  this.  Whistler,  as 
president,  was  there  to  receive  him,  and  the  prince  said  that  he  had 
never  before  heard  of  that  society  and  asked  its  history.  "It  has 
none,  your  highness,"  said  Whistler;  "its  history  dates  from  to-day." 

Whistler,  a  short  time  before  his  death,  showed  his  Scotch  artist- 
neighbor,  E.  A.  Walton,  over  his  bronze-domed  house  in  Cheyne 
Walk,  Chelsea.  "Beautiful,"  said  Walton.  "But  rather  Bunthor- 
ney,"  said  Whistler,  "and  it  has  involved  me  in  another  lawsuit. 
Builders  are  working  on  the  adjoining  plot  and  the  noise  of  the  ham- 
mers, etc.,  prevents  me  from  working.  I  am  an  old  man  and  have  no 
time  to  lose,  so  I  wrote  a  protest  to  the  landlord.  He  laid  the  blame 
on  the  woman  who  was  building  the  house.  I  wrote  to  the  lady  and 
she  blamed  the  landlord.  I  am  now  taking  proceedings  against  the 
landlord.  You  see,  art  is  my  pastime  and  litigation  my  serious  pur- 
suit. It  works  for  good.  It  pays  my  lawyers,  it  advertises  my  land- 
lord, and  it  amuses  me." 

In  a  report  of  a  certain  public  sale  the  statement  was  printed  that 
when  one  of  Whistler's  nocturnes  was  put  up  it  was  promptly  hissed. 


WHISTLER,  THE    MAN,  AS    TOLD    IN    ANECDOTE       355 

Whistler  sat  down  and  wrote  the  editor  of  the  paper  acknowledging 
the  compliment,  "the  distinguished  though  unconscious  compliment, 
so  publicly  paid.  It  is  rare  that  recognition  so  complete  is  made 
during  the  lifetime  of  the  painter."  Another  time  he  exclaimed, 
characteristically:  "There  are  those,  they  tell  me,  who  have  the 
approval  of  the  public — and  live." 

When  Oscar  Wilde  commended  one  of  his  epigrams  by  remark- 
ing, "I  wish  I  had  said  that,"  Whistler  retorted:  "You  will,  Oscar." 
To  another  artist  who  stammered  Whistler  congratulated  him,  and 
said,  if  he  were  not  so  old  he  would  cultivate  a  stammer  like  it, 
because  it  would  enable  him  to  say  some  amazingly  funny  things. 

When  he  failed  of  re-election  to  the  presidency  of  the  Royal 
Society  of  British  Artists,  Whistler  remarked:  "No  longer  can  it  be 
said  that  the  right  man  is  in  the  wrong  place."  When  the  trouble  in 
this  society  was  brewing  and  bis  cause  was  sinking,  one  of  his  sup- 
porters resigned.     "Ah,"  said  Whistler,  "  the  early  rat." 

"It  is  easier  to  laugh  at  a  man  than  to  appreciate  him,"  Whistler 
once  said,  and  when  Harry  Quilter,  who  succeeded  Taylor  as  the 
Times's  critic,  took  the  house  in  Tite  Street  which  Whistler  had  vacated 
and  began  to  tear  down  a  part  of  it,  he  asked,  quizzically:  "Shall  the 
birthplace  of  art  become  the  tomb  of  its  parasite?" 

There  is  a  bailiff  story  which  Whistler  was  very  fond  of  relating. 
Some  one  had  told  him  that  a  mixture  of  snuff  and  beer  had  the  prop- 
erty of  sending  people  off  to  sleep.  So  he  purchased  a  large  parcel 
of  snuff,  and  put  the  greater  part  of  it  into  a  gigantic  tankard  full  of 
beer,  which  he  sent  out  to  his  bailiff  in  the  garden.  It  was  a  very 
hot  summer  afternoon,  and  the  man  eagerly  welcomed  his  refresh- 
ment. Next  morning  Whistler  got  up  very  late  and  went  out  into 
the  garden,  where  he  was  astounded  to  see  the  bailiff  sitting  in  pre- 
cisely the  same  position  as  the  day  before.  The  empty  tankard  was 
on  the  table  beside  him.  "Hello,  my  sleeping  beauty,"  said 
Whistler,  "have  you  been  there  all  this  while?"  But  the  man  made 
no  answer.  Late  in  the  afternoon  the  bailiff  awoke  in  the  most 
natural  way  in  the  world,  exclaiming  that  it  was  dreadfully  hot 
weather.  Meanwhile  Whistler  had  got  some  money  together,  and 
was  able  to  pay  him  off.  Some  hours  later  the  man  rushed  uncere- 
moniously in  and  began  by  asking  Whistler  what  day  of  the  month  it 
was.  "Well,  sir,"  the  man  said,  "I  can't  make  it  out  at  all.  Here 
you've  paid  me  three  days'  possession  money,  and  I  could  have 
sworn  it  was  the  i6th,  but  somehow  or  other  everybody  tells  me  it's 
the  17th,  and  I  see  the  evening  papers  are  dated  the  17th."  Whistler 
was  not  to  be  led  into  discussion.  He  gave  him  some  more  money, 
but  he  told  him  that,  now  his  demands  had  been  satisfied,  the  sooner 
he  cleared  out  the  better. 

Whistler  painted  a  portrait  of  Carlyle  because  of  his  love  for  the 
man.     After  Carlyle's  death    a  popular  subscription  to   buy   it    for 


356 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


Glasgow  was  started,  and  Whistler  put  a  very  modest  price  on  it, 
four  hundred  guineas,  because  he  approved  of  the  project;  but  when 
he  discovered  that  the  subscription  specially  disclaimed  any  approval 
of  himself  or  his  art,  he  raised  the  price  to  one  thousand  guineas — 
and  kept  the  portrait  till   the  money  was  raised  by  the  committee. 

Most  artists  are 
so  anxious  to  see 
their  names  in  print 
that  the  audacity 
of  his  reply  to  the 
famous  Gazette  des 
Beaux  Arts — prob- 
ably the  leading  art 
journal  of  the  world 
— takes  the  breath 
away.  It  was  a 
question  of  some 
etchings  by  Whist- 
ler which  they  de- 
sired to  publish  to 
accompany  a  lauda- 
tory article  and  nat- 
urally expected  to 
have  the  use  of 
them  gratis.  The 
artist  demanded  the 
full  price;  which 
the  august  editor 
refused  to  pay,  with 
words  of  polite  in- 
dignation. The 
artist  replied: 
"Dear  Sir:  (I  trans- 
late) I  regret  in- 
finitely that  my 
means  will  not  per- 
mit me  to  be  born 
in  your  journal. 
The  article  that 
you  propose  me,  as  a  cradle,  will  cost  me  too  dear.  I  must, 
indeed,  take  back  my  plates  and  remain  unknown  until  the  end  of 
time,  because  I  cannot  be  invented  by  the  Gazette  des  Beaux  Arts." 
What  a  clever  advertisement.  Of  course  the  incident  got  into  the 
newspapers. 

I  have  gathered   these  Whistler  anecdotes   together   from  many 
sources,  and  I  offer  them  to  the  readers  of  Brush  and  Pencil  for 


THE  LIME  BURNER 
By  J.  McNeill  Whistler 
Thames  Series  of  Etchings 


%^^ 


CHARCOAL  FROM  LIFE 
By  Frank  Ashford 


GLEANINGS    FROM    AMERICAN    ART    CENTERS  359 

the  reason  that  they  tell  more  of  the  man  than  the  bald  chronology 
of  his  life.  Everybody  is  born  somewhere  and  at  some  time,  every- 
body grows  up,  accomplishes  something  or  nothing,  wins  fame  or  is 
irretrievably  lost  in  the  ruck  of  mankind;  but  it  is  not  everybody  who 
has  etched  his  personality  on  a  generation  or  two  with  acid  of  his  own 
distillation.  This  is  what  Whistler  has  done,  and  I  leave  his  marks 
to  speak  for  themselves.  Frank  A.  Hadley. 


GLEANINGS  FROM  AMERICAN  ART  CENTERS 

Jf  Carl  Rohl-Smith*s  equestrian^  statue  of  General  Sherman,  the 
design  for  which  was  accepted  several  years  ago,  will  soon  be  erected 
in  Washington  upon  a  plat  south  of  the  treasury  building.  When 
Rohl-Smith  died,  leaving  the  work  on  the  statue  about  half  done,  his 
widow  engaged  Stephen  Sinding  to  complete  it.  About  a  year  ago 
Mr.  Sinding,  who  completed  his  models  in  Europe,  prepared  to  come 
to  this  country  with  them,  when  he  was  prevented  by  illness,  and  Mr. 
Asbjorsen  of  Chicago  was  invited  to  undertake  the  final  work.  Upon 
examination  of  the  models  and  designs  furnished,  it  was  found  that 
there  had  been  misunderstandings  as  to  the  size  and  position  of  the 
pedestal,  so  much  of  the  work  had  to  be  done  over  again.  It  was  a 
case  of  too  many  cooks  spoiling  the  broth.  Now,  however,  the 
whole  is  ready  for  casting.  On  the  four  sides  of  the  monolithic 
pedestal  are  to  be  bronze  bas-reliefs,  picturing  respectively  the  battle 
of  Atlanta,  the  battle  of  Missionary  Ridge,  the  march  through 
Georgia,  and  Sherman  alone  by  the  camp-fire.  Below  the  pedestal 
are  to  be  groups  typifying  Peace  and  War. 

o*  The  McClellan  monument  commission  of  Washington,  composed 
of  the  Secretary  of  War,  Senator  Wetmore,  and  General  Ruggles, 
after  more  than  a  year's  deliberation,  has  rejected  all  the  models  and 
has  decided  to  give  the  commission  to  some  American  sculptor  who 
has  not  been  identified  with  the  project.  It  is  said  that  this  action 
was  taken  through  the  suggestion  of  the  advisory  committee,  com- 
posed of  Augustus  St.  Gaudens,  Daniel  C.  French,  and  Charles  F. 
McKim.  The  competition  opened  May,  1902.  The  first  decision 
was  in  favor  of  four  competing  sculptors — C.  H.  Niehaus,  Austin 
Hays,  A.  Piccirilli,  and  Waldo  Story,  who  were  requested  to  submit 
enlarged  models.  These  enlarged  models  were  placed  on  view  with 
the  originals,  since  when  the  question  of  award  has  been  pending. 
Recently  the  advisory  committee  was  called  upon  for  a  second  opin- 
ion, with  the  result  stated.  The  advisory  committee  is  to  be  con- 
gratulated upon  its  decision.  Its  honesty  and  fairmindedness  cannot 
be  questioned,  and  through  its  efforts  the  country  has  doubtless  been 


36o 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


saved  a  commonplace  monument  of  which  it  already  possesses  far  too 
many.  Discrimination  in  public  works  is  to  be  heartily  praised. 
J*  The  plans  of  the  new  Herron  Art  Institute  have  been  formally 
accepted  by  the  Indianapolis  Art  Association.  The  proposed  build- 
ing in  its  entirety  will  cost  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars, 
but  for  the  immediate   future   only  two-fifths  of  it  will  be  erected. 

This  will  be  the 
front  of  the  build- 
ing looking  upon 
East  Sixteenth 
Street.  The  style 
of  the  building  will 
be  the  Italian  re- 
naissance and  will 
be  of  Italian  oolitic 
limestone.  Places 
have  been  left  in  the 
facade  for  portrait 
medallions  of  great 
artists. 

^  There  is  a  move- 
ment on  foot  among 
the  Boston  artists 
to  form  an  art 
workers'  club  for 
women  similar  to 
the  New  York  so- 
ciety of  that  name. 
Meetings  of  the 
artists  have  been 
held,  a  committee 
has  been  appointed 
to  further  the  cause, 
and  it  is  quite  prob- 
able that  the  early 
fall  will  see  the 
culmination  of  the 
plans.  The  club 
will  be  conducted  along  the  same  lines  as  the  New  York  society.  The 
New  York  club  was  organized  six  years  ago  by  a  few  women  painters 
and  sculptors  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  support  and  interest  among 
women  artists  and  models.  The  club  is  working  to  dignify  the  pro- 
fession of  posing,  to  assist  artists  in  obtaining  suitable  models,  to  find 
employment  for  those  unsuited  for  posing  or  who  show  special  talent 
in  any  other  direction,  and  to  give  aid  in  case  of  need.  The  member- 
ship consists  at  present  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  artists  and  over 


WHISTLER  PORTRAIT,  No 
By  Mortimer  Menpes 
From  an  Etching 


GLEANINGS    FROM    AMERICAN    ART    CENTERS 


361 


one  hundred  and  fifty  models.  The  club  is  not  a  charity,  by  any 
means;  it  is  co-operative  and  makes  no  distinction  in  its  privileges 
between  artists  and  models.  It  aims  to  be  of  use  to  both  classes. 
J*  The  annual  current  exhibition  at  the  Worcester  Art  Museum  is 
said  to  be  well  up  to  the  standard  and  uncommonly  interesting.  A 
jury,  composed  of  John  J.  Enneking,  H.  W.  Ranger,  and  Miss 
Cecelia  Beaux, 
awarded  the  first 
prize  of  three  hun- 
dred dollars  to 
Charles  H.  Wood- 
bury of  Boston  for 
his  painting  of  the 
"North  Atlantic," 
the  second  prize  of 
two  hundred  dollars 
to  W.  L.  Lathrop 
of  New  York  for 
"his  painting  en- 
titled "The  Old 
Quarry,"  and  the 
third  prize  of  one 
hundred  dollars  to 
Gifford  Beale  of 
Pennsylvania  for 
his  painting  called 
"Returning  Home." 
J-  Thegreatscheme 
of  decoration  which 
John  S.  Sargent  de- 
signed for  the  spe- 
cial library  floors  of 
the  Boston  Public 
Library  is  now  in 
the  second  series 
of  the  work.  The 
whole  scheme, 
when       completed, 

will  represent  the  development  of  the  Christian  faith.  The  first  part 
was  finished  several  years  ago,  and  pictures  the  foundation  of  Chris- 
tianity on  the  growth  of  Judaism.  The  second  part,  on  which  Mr. 
Sargent  is  now  at  work,  is  intended  to  depict  the  dogma  of  the 
redemption.  The  third  part  will  be  a  continuation  of  the  second. 
The  work  is  strikingly  bold  and  unlike  any  previous  aspect  of  Mr. 
Sargent's  art.  One  forcible  part  of  the  frieze  shows  the  figures  of 
Adam  and   Eve  bound  closely  to  the  body  of  Christ  on  the  cross. 


4; 


WHISTLER  PORTRAIT,  No. 
By  Mortimer  Menpes 
From  an  Etching 


362 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


■*^''    -'  -pj^jg    represents    the 

symbolism  of  the 
central  theme — that 
man  and  woman  are 
one  in  nature  with 
the  Savior. 
J*  Prince  Paul  Trou- 
betzkoy,  who, 
through  his  long  res- 
idence in  this  coun- 
try, may  be  included 
among  American 
artists,  has  been 
honored  by  having 
one  of  his  bronze 
statuettes,  "A  Girl," 
placed  in  a  perma- 
nent collection  in 
Venice.  It  was  pur- 
chased by  the  Pro- 
vincial Council  of 
Venice  from  a  re- 
cent exhibition  held 
there,  and  is  to  be 
placed  in  the  city's 
International  Gallery 
of  Modern  Art. 
J>  The  directors  of 
the  Cincinnati  Mu- 
seum of  Fine  Arts 
have  purchased  for 
the  permanent  collection  of  the  museum  John  W.  Alexander's  por- 
trait of  Rodin,  the  French  sculptor.  The  painting  is  one  of  this 
artist's  most  important  canvases.  It  received  a  gold  medal  in  the 
Paris  Exhibition  of   1900. 

J'  Sir  Moses  Ezekiel,  the  famous  Cincinnati  sculptor,  now  a  resident 
of  Rome,  has  given  to  the  Virginia  Military  Institute  at  Lexington 
an  effective  and  artistic  monument.  It  is  called  "Virginia  Mourning 
Her  Dead,"  has  been  erected  on  the  institute  grounds,  and  commemo- 
rates the  heroism  of  the  cadets  who  fell  at  the  battle  of  Newmarket, 
Virginia,  May  15,  1864.  The  sculptor  was  himself  among  these 
Confederate  cadets,  and  his  room-mate,  Thomas  Jefferson,  a  great- 
grandson  of  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  fell  in 
that  battle.  -^^  .:  -* 

j^  Mrs.  Harriet  Lane  Johnston's  bequest  of  paintings  by  famous 
masters  to  the  Corcoran  Gallery  will   not  be  accepted  by  the  trustees 


WHISTLER  PORTRAIT,  No 
By  Mortimer  Menpes 
From  an  Etching 


GLEANINGS    FROM    AMERICAN    ART    CENTERS 


3^3 


of  that  institution.  She  stipulated  that  another  wing  be  added  for  it, 
and  it  was  decided  that  it  would  cost  more  to  erect  the  wing  than  the 
collection  is  worth.  Although  the  gift  includes  a  number  of  excel- 
lent paintings  by  well-known  masters,  the  whole  is  valued  at  not  more 
than  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

^  The  New  York  Fine  Arts  Federation  contemplates  the  erection  of 
a  building  suitable  for  the  exhibition  of  works  of  art,  something  after 
the  model  of  the  Paris  Salon.  It  is  stated  that  funds  have  been 
promised  already  by  an  anonymous  donor,  and  that  the  sum  is  large 
enough  to  insure  the  success  of  the  scheme. 

^  Additions  to  the  Layton  Art  Gallery,  Milwaukee,  presented  by 
Frederick  Layton,  are  "In  Britanny,"  a  shore  and  surf  view  by 
Henry  Davis  of  the  Royal  Academy,  containing  white  and  brown 
cattle,  sea-gulls,  etc.;  and  "Seeing  Them  Off,"  by  the  late  Thomas 
Faed,  whose  genre  pictures  of  Scottish  peasant  life  and  ideal  figures 
of  sentiment  have 
been  favorites  for 
reproduction  during 
the  past  fifty  years. 
"Seeing Them  Off" 
is  a  young  Scotch 
lassie  in  red  under- 
skirt and  dress  of  dif- 
ferent dark  colors, 
who  leans  against 
an  oak  with  a  black 
kitten  in  her  arms. 
^  Overgi,825,ooo 
has  already  been 
produced  by  the 
sale  of  the  late 
Mme.  C.  Lelong's 
art  collection  in 
Paris,  and  the  final 
offerings  next  Octo- 
ber are  expected  to 
bring  the  grand 
total  to  more  than 
51,900,000.  This 
would  break  the 
record.  The  largest 
total  ever  brought 
in  this  country  was 
the  $1,205,000  for 
the  Mary  J.  Morgan        whistler  portrait.  No.  4 

..         .  °  By  Mortimer  Menpes 

collection .  prom  an  Etching 


PATHOS  OF  THE  CAREER  OF  JOHN  DONOGHUE, 

SCULPTOR 

The  tragic  death  of  John  Donoghue,  the  sculptor,  adds  another 
name  to  the  long  list  of  men  of  high  talents  who,  tor  some  reason  or 
other,  failing  to  achieve  the  recognition  that  would  give  them  success, 
have  been  driven  to  melancholy  endings.  Donoghue  was  long  well 
known  in  Chicago,  New  York,  and  Boston,  and  was  heartily  liked  for 
the  genuine  nature  of  his  art  and  his  lovable  personal  qualities.  He 
lacked,  however,  the  stamina  to  bear  up  against  and  overcome 
adversity,  and  finally  misfortune  drove  him  to  a  suicide's  grave. 

Donoghue  was  "discovered"  in  Chicago  by  Oscar  Wilde,  on  his 

first  visit  to  this 
more  than 


ago. 
the 
rare 


WHISTLER  PORTRAIT,  No.  s 
By  Mortimer  Menpes 
From  an  Etching 


country, 
twenty  years 
Wilde  saw 
promise  of 
plastic  talent  in  the 
youth  that  Don- 
oghue then  was, 
and  the  attention 
thus  drawn  to  him 
enabled  him  to  pur- 
sue his  studies 
abroad.  Returning 
to  this  country,  he 
was  active  in  Bos- 
ton for  some  time. 
The  exhibition  of 
his  work  in  Horti- 
cultural Hall  in  that 
city  was  a  notable 
affair.  His  "Young 
Sophocles"  was  an 
uncommonly  beau- 
tiful piece  of  work. 
While  in  Boston  he 
modeled  his  statue, 
"The  Boxer," 
studied  from  John 
L.  Sullivan,  but 
much  idealized. 
Going  abroad  again, 


364 


CAREER    OF   JOHN    DONOGHUE,    SCULPTOR 


;65 


he  there  modeled  a 
colossal       statue. 


"The     Spirit,' 
something   of 
sort,       for 
World's      Fair 
Chicago.        It 
said   to   be 


or 
that 
the 
at 
was 
a  most 
impressive  work. 
But  by  some  mis- 
take it  was  for- 
warded too  late,  no 
arrangements  had 
been  made  to  re- 
ceive it,  and  it  was 
left  on  the  dock  at 
Brooklyn,  a  huge 
bill  for  transship- 
ment confronting 
the  artist.  It  was 
too  big  to  do  any- 
thing with,  and  it 
was  probably  brok- 
en up  to  get  it  out 
of  the  way. 

The  keen  dis- 
appointment that 
resulted  from  this 
disastrous  outcome 
of  a  really  unselfish 
and  patriotic  en- 
deavor to  honor  his  country  and  his  native  city,  was  perhaps  the  thing 
that  determined  his  decline.  He  went  to  Boston  for  a  while,  and 
modeled  the  bust  of  John  Boyle  O'Reilly  that  marks  the  poet's  grave 
in  Holyrood  cemetery.  O'Reilly  had  been  a  warm  friend  of  the 
sculptor.  Donoghue  then  went  to  New  York,  and  little  was  heard  of 
him  until  his  suicide  at  New  Haven. 

Chicago  art  students,  when  they  learned  of  his  death,  placed  a 
white  wreath  on  Donoghue's  statue  of  "Young  Sophocles"  in  the  Art 
Institute,  thus  silently  paying  tribute  to  the  genius  of  a  Chicago  sculp- 
tor whose  career  was  at  once  curious,  fantastic,  and  tragic.  At  the 
age  of  forty-two,  but  in  appearance  a  man  much  older,  Donoghue 
closed  a  career  that  had  begun  with  great  promise,  but  that  practically 
ended  when  the  great  achievement  of  his  life,  as  above  stated,  was 
shattered  into  fragments  in  a  Brooklyn  stoneyard  to  get  rid  of  it. 

This  was   really  the  death  of  a  wonderful   idea,  since  nothing  of 


WHISTLER  PORTRAIT,  No. 
By  Mortimer  Menpes 
From  an  Etching 


366 


BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


the  statue  remains  to-day  but  in  the  memory  of  a  very  few  who  had 
seen  it  under  construction  in  Rome.  There  was  no  miniature  of  it, 
nor  had  it  ever  been  photographed.  And  only  a  part  of  it  was 
shipped  to  this  country.      It  is  simply  a  masterpiece  forever  lost. 

The  story  of  this 
tragedy  in  artistic 
endeavor  is  worthy 
telling,  and  I  tell  it 
largely  in  the  words 
of  a  recently  pub- 
lished account.  It 
was  Donoghue's 
dream  to  be  repre- 
sented in  his  native 
city  by  a  great  work 
of  art.  When  the 
arrangements  for 
the  World's  Fair 
were  going  forward, 
he  conceived  the 
idea  for  an  immense 
statue  to  be  known 
as  "The  Spirit," 
representing  the 
spirit  of  the  world 
hovering  over 
chaos.  Milton  is 
said  to  have  been 
the  inspiration. 
When  assured  that 
such  a  statue  would 
be  acceptable  to  the 
fair  commissioners, 
Donoghue,  then  in 
Rome,  set  to  work 
with  great  enthu- 
siasm. The  work  was  of  heroic  proportions,  and  some  idea  of  its 
magnitude  may  be  imagined  from  the  length  of  the  wings  of  the  figure, 
which  measured  thirty  feet  from  tip  to  tip.  The  statue  was  to  have 
been  brought  to  this  country  by  the  government  and  on  board  the 
Constellation.  About  the  time  the  work  was  nearing  completion  the 
Constellation  arrived  in  Rome. 

The  artist  asked  for  a  month's  time,  but  it  was  impossible  for  the 
vessel  to  remain.  It  was  ordered  home.  When  the  statue  was  finally 
ready  the  government  did  not  find  it  convenient  to  transport  it.  But 
Donoghue  had  friends  in  his  native  country,  and  it  was  determined  to 


WHISTLER  PORTRAIT,  No.  7 
By  Mortimer  Menpes 
From  an  Etching 


CAREER    OF   JOHN    DONOGHUE,    SCULPTOR 


367 


bring  it  here  by  private  subscription.      After  considerable  effort  on 
the  part  of  friends  the  necessary  money  was  at  last  secured. 

Part  of  the  statue  was  finally  sent,  but  it  got  no  nearer  Chicago 
than  Brooklyn,  where  it  was  placed  in  storage.  In  the  succeeding 
arrangements       for 

the  opening  of  the  ^ 

World's  Fair  Don- 
oghue's  work  was 
lost  sight  of. 

The  exact  nature 
of  the  artistic  ca- 
tastrophe has  never 
been  made  known, 
but  for  over  a  year 
half  of  the  statue 
remained  in  Rome 
and  half  in  Brook- 
lyn. When  Don- 
oghue  came  to  this 
country  to  person- 
ally look  after  his 
interests,  it  was  too 
late  to  do  anything. 
He  made  numerous 
appeals,  but  they 
apparently  came  to 
nothing.  He  was 
poor,  and  his  former 
patrons  had  done 
all  that  was  possible 
for  him.  Finally 
that  part  of  the 
statue  in  Brooklyn 
was  broken  up  to 
pay  storage  charges. 
The  half  of  the 
statue  left  in  Rome 

has  never  been  accounted  for.  It  likewise  was  probably  broken  up. 
The  failure  to  show  his  work  to  the  public  caused  Donoghue  griev- 
ous disappointment.  He  lost  enthusiasm  and  ambition.  Although 
he  had  produced  a  number  of  works  that  had  taken  rank  while  he  was 
abroad  he  could  not  again  settle  to  work  after  "The  Spirit"  had  been 
shattered.  For  a  time  he  worked  for  New  York  architects,  and 
several  large  oflfice  buildings  there  are  ornamented  with  specimens  of 
his  artistic  skill.  Recently  he  began  to  give  serious  study  to  psychical 
subjects,  and  was  at  work,  when  he  killed  himself,  on  a  book  to  be 


WHISTLER  PORTRAIT,  No.  8 
By  Mortimer  Menpes 
From  an  Etching 


368  BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 

called  "The  New  Religion."  Within  the  past  two  years  he  had  been 
lost  sight  of  by  his  Chicago  acquaintances  and  former  patrons. 

A  closing  word  of  biography.  Donoghue  was  born  in  Chicago, 
and  it  was  here  that  the  greatest  encouragement  was  given  him  during 
his  early  and  promising  career.  He  studied  in  a  local  atelier  and 
then  went  to  Paris,  where  he  was  a  pupil  of  Falguiere.  It  is  said 
that  this  move  was  made  possible  by  the  great  confidence  accorded 
him  by  Chicago  patronesses  to  whose  notice  he  was  brought. 
Memories  of  young  Donoghue  are  of  a  handsome,  witty  person,  with 
an  irresistibly  appealing  manner.  He  walked  into  the  affections  of 
people.  His  time  was  much  occupied  socially,  but  for  all  this  he  had 
a  serious  purpose  in  view,  and  if  he  worked  only  when  the  mood  of 
the  artist  came  upon  him,  it  must  be  said  that  he  by  no  means  lacked 
industry. 

Up  to  one  point  in  his  career  his  manner  was  simple  and  unaffected. 
There  was  a  deviation  when  he  gained  the  friendship  of  Oscar  Wilde, 
aboye  referred  to.  The  English  apostle  of  aestheticism  was  on  a 
lecturing  tour  of  the  United  States,  He  visited  Chicago  and  flattered 
young  Donoghue  with  his  attention.  When  he  departed  he  left  in  the 
young  sculptor  an  enthusiastic  disciple  of  his  cult,  and  this  was  shortly 
shown  in  marked  eccentricities. 

Donoghue  progressed  rapidly  under  Falguiere  in  Paris.  His  talent 
showed  itself  at  once,  and  in  1884  he  exhibited  in  the  Salon  a 
"Phaedra"  which  was  striking  enough  to  find  a  ready  purchaser.  He 
then  went  to  Rome,  and  there  produced  the  "Young  Sophocles," 
which  won  great  praise  from  critics.  The  owner  of  this  statue  is  said 
to  be  a  wealthy  American,  that  now  on  exhibition  at  the  Chicago  Art 
Institute  being  a  copy.  Indeed,  so  popular  was  this  work  that  many 
replicas  were  made.  His  claim  to  fame  rests  principally  on  the 
"Young  Sophocles,"  which  is  here  reproduced,  and  it  was  this  suc- 
cess that  inspired  him  to  take  up  the  work  of  "The  Spirit"  as  his 
masterpiece* 

From  the  timefhe  conceived  the  idea  until  "The  Spirit"  was 
finished  Donoghue  worked  with  great  seriousness  of  purpose  and  with 
intense  enthusiasm.  The  series  of  disappointments  that  followed  the 
completion  of  the  statue  and  the  end  of  his  dream  to  give  to  his  native 
city  a  great  work  completely  shattered  the  sculptor.  After  the  last 
hope  was  gone  and  the  statue  destroyed,  he  experienced  a  fatalistic 
lack  of  confidence.  "My  career  ended  with 'The  Spirit,'  "Donoghue 
is  credited  with  saying  a  short  time  before  his  death,  to  a  friend  who 
had  urged  him  again  to  endeavor.  "For  so,  too,  has  my  spirit  been 
shattered.      I  feel  that  my  work  is  done  J.  C.  McCord. 


ART  NEWS  FROM  THE  OLD  WORLD 

^  According  to  Le  Temps  the  City  of  Paris  has  bought  from  the  Old 
and  New  Salons  the  following:  At  the  Societe  des  Artistes  Fran^ais 
— Paintmgs:  "  Bal  Blanc,"  M.  Avy;  "Priere  du  Soir,"  M.  Bellan; 
"Marchand  de  Chansons,"  M.  Gilbert;  "Etang,"  M.  Buffet;  "La 
Goutte  de  Lait,"  M.  Geoffroy;  "A  la  Nuit  Tombante,"  M.  Cachoud; 
''Paysage,"  M.  Carl  Rosa;  "Baigneuses,"  M.  Legrand  and  "Barques 
Echauees,"  M.  Ravanne.  Sculpture:  "Episode  du  Siege  de  Paris," 
M.  Lefeuvre;  "Feuilles  d'Automne,"  M.  Colle;  "Un  Rapt,"  M. 
Suchetet;  "Enfant  en  Masque,"  M.  Champigny;  and  "Danois 
au  Soleil,"  M.  Perrault,  At  the  Societe  Nationale  des  Beaux 
Arts — Paintings:  "La  Source,"  M.  Dumoulin;  "Ma  Patronne,"  Mr. 
Hawkins;  "Une  Jeune  Femme,"  Mme.  Le  Roy  d'Etoilles;  "En 
Haut  de  la  Dune,"  M.  P.  Carrier-Belleuse;  "Falaises  a  Dieppe," 
M.  Gabriel;  "Les  Tricoteuses,"  M.  Le  Gout-Gerard;  and  "Le  Carre- 
four  Drouot"  and  "Le  Boulevard  des  Italiens,"M.  Haubron. 
J-  The  French  government  has  recently  opened  a  retail  shop.  It  is 
an  ordinary  shop,  like  any  other,  rather  handsome,  and  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Boulevard,  below  the  building  of  the  Credit  Lyonnais. 
In  the  windows  you  see  exposed  for  sale  all  kinds  of  beautiful  art 
objects,  in  particular  Sevres  vases,  dinner  services,  tea  and  coffee 
cups  and  saucers,  and  delicate  figurines  in  porcelain.  Behind  them 
are  exhibited  steel  and  wood  engraving  masterpieces,  photogravures, 
and  all  kinds  of  the  best  process  work  in  picture  reproduction,  not 
excluding  direct  photographs.  And  standing  here  and  there  you  see 
small  plaster-of-paris  casts  of  sculptors'  masterpieces,  modern  and 
ancient.  Inside  are  larger  casts,  and  in  glass-covered  cabinets  are  ex- 
posed for  sale  all  kinds  of  medals.  The  porcelain  objects  are  from  the 
French  government  manufactory  at  Sevres.  The  casts  are  taken  from  the 
statuary  of  the  great  museums.  The  medals  are  from  the  mint.  And 
the  photographs  and  engravings  are  the  work  of  the  celebrated  Louvre 
staff,  work  that  until  now  has  been  so  difficult  to  be  procured. 
jf>  The  Paris  authorities,  at  the  request  of  the  society  of  art-lovers, 
Les  Amis  de  Louvre,  have  agreed  to  take  either  into  the  Louvre  or 
the  Luxembourg  the  famous  marble  group,  "La  Danse,"  which  for 
thirty  years  has  been  the  chief  ornament  at  the  entrance  of  the  Paris 
Opera  House.  This  exquisite  group  of  dancing  nymphs  by  the 
lamented  Carpeaux  was  subjected  to  bitter  criticism  when  first  shown, 
and  descried  as  highly  improper.  It  was  found  one  morning  in  1869 
covered  with  ink.  During  the  last  few  years  it  has  been  noticed  that 
the  marble  was  being  injured  by  the  frost.  A  copy  of  the  group  will 
replace  the  original  when  it  is  removed. 

369 


370  BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 

J-  At  the  Bernheim  Galleries  in  Paris  an  exhibition  has  just  been 
held  of  the  palettes  of  one  hundred  modern  French  artists  with  the 
colors  arranged  as  they  were  used.  That  of  Duere  shows  a  solid 
paste  of  pigments;  P'antin-Latour's  palette  is  as  brilliant  as  any 
impressionist  could  wish;  Corot's  is  full  of  pearl-grays,  while  that  of 
Ziem  resembles  a  rainbow.  One  of  the  Paris  critics  remarks  that  the 
exhibition  is  as  sadly  suggestive  of  past  glories  as  dusty  old  armor  in 
the  windows  of  a  cheap  bric-a-brac  shop. 

Jf  The  Imperial  Academy  of  Arts  of  St.  Petersburg  is  planning  for 
the  erection  of  "a  palace  of  the  arts."  This  building  is  intended  to 
contain  within  its  walls  a  home  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  artists, 
an  asylum  for  aged  painters,  an  industrial-commercial  school,  with 
thirty  workshops  for  competitors  from  the  higher  art  schools,  and  an 
enormous  hall  for  the  permanent  exhibition  of  Russian  works  of  art. 
The  total  cost  of  this  magnificent  building,  which  will  be  decorated 
with  sculptures  and  paintings  by  the  best  artists  in  Russia,  will  be 
about  five  hundred  thousand  dollars.  This  large  outlay  will  be 
defrayed  by  the  Russian  art  societies. 

J*  The  Czar  of  Russia  is  endeavoring  to  encourage  the  painters  of  his 
land  by  setting  aside  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  the  imperial 
budget.  Commmisions  have  already  been  given  Simoksji,  Norozoff, 
and  Chimoff.  So  far  the  subjects  deal  chiefly  with  hunting  scenes, 
the  object  being  to  preserve  accurate  portraits  of  the  native  animals, 
which,  like  our  buffalo,  are  becoming  extinct. 

^  The  Stadtische  Historische  Museum,  of  Frankfort,  has  unex- 
pectedly secured  a  valuable  collection  of  silver  articles  of  great 
importance  for  the  history  of  the  local  silversmith's  art.  They  were 
discovered  in  an  old  alms-chest,  which  was  regarded  as  lumber, 
according  to  a  London  writer.  When  the  chest  was  broken  open,  it 
was  found  to  contain  a  great  number  of  beautifully  ornamented  silver 
mugs,  buckles,  silver  spoons,  and  similar  objects,  which  bore  for  the 
most  part  the  hall-mark  of  the  town,  and  the  private  mark  of  dis- 
tinguished silversmiths  of  the  early  eighteenth  century.  The  origin 
of  the  treasure  is  not  yet  known,  but  it  has  been  suggested  that  it 
may  consist  of  unredeemed  pledges. 

^  Ghent  has  been  having  an  exhibition  of  the  paintings  of  Gustave 
Vanaise,  who  was  born  in  Ghent,  and  died  in  1902,  after  painting  large 
historical  pictures  like  "Louise  XL  and  Oliver  le  Dain,"  "The  Duke 
of  Alva  Sitting  to  His  Portrait  by  Guillaume  de  Kay,"  "Jacques  van 
Artevelde"  (now  in  the  Museum  at  Ghent),  and  "Saint  Lieven — 
Dicu  le  Veut."  Vanaise  had  great  facility  with  the  brush,  and  studied 
Rembrandt,  Frans  Hals,  Jordaens,  and  Velasquez.  His  nudes,  "Eve" 
and  "Apres  le  Bain,"  are  much  admired.  Toward  the  close  of  his 
life  his  portraits  made  him  even  more  famous  in  Belgium  than  his 
historical  pictures. 


YOUNG  SOPHOCLES 

By  John  Donoghue 

See  Article  on  Donoghue 


[^ 


ART    NEWS    FROM    THE    OLD    WORLD  373 

^  ^That  the  United  States  has  not  the  monopoly  of  unsatisfactory 
competitions  is  shown  by  the  plaint  which  comes  from  England,  to 
the  effect  that  the  result  of  the  Liverpool  Cathedral  competition  is  "a 
setback  to  all  faith  and  trust  in  competitions,  committees,  and  asses- 
sors." It  seems  that  the  committee  in  question  awarded  the  com- 
mission to  the  architect  who  did  not  comply  with  the  one  condition 
which  had  been  made — that  the  plan  should  permit  the  seating  of 
three  thousand  persons  near  the  pulpit  without  the  intervention  of  a 
pier — and  discarded  the  work  of  the  four  who  did. 
e5*  The  collection  of  pictures  and  water-colors  of  the  late  George 
Guerney  was  sold  at  Christie's.  The  sale  was  poorly  attended  and 
the  bidding  was  listless.  Fifty-one  lots  of  water-colors  and  drawings 
were  sold  for  £3,000.  The  best  price  realized  was  £630  for  a  small 
Turner.  A  pair  of  drawings  by  Landseer  brought  only  thirty  shil- 
lings. Among  the  pictures  sold  was  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds's  "Portrait 
of  the  Marquis  of  Tavistock,"  which  brought  £1,207;  ^  Gainsbrough 
portrait,  which  sold  for  £1,029;  Millais's  "Diana  Vernon,"  which 
went  for  £651;  and  Raeburn's  excellent  portrait  of  James  Byers, 
which  was  taken  at  £526.  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds's  "Portrait  of  Lady 
Stanhope"  was  sold,  after  many  had  left  the  rooms,  for  £157  los. 
^  At  a  sale  in  Christie's  in  London  recently  six  small  canvases  b}' 
Meissonier  brought  prices  that  seem  extraordinary,  in  view  of  the 
dimensions  of  the  pictures.  "A  Troop  of  Cavalry,"  5^  by  S}4 
inches,  brought  ^4,750;  "Two  Cavaliers  Riding,"  33^  by  4^  inches, 
§3,000;  "Advance  Guard,"  4}4  by  8  inches,  1^2,050;  "Meissonier 
Riding  Near  Auteuil,"  5 5^  by  g}4  inches,  §4,100:  "Un  Florentin," 
9  by  5  ^  inches,  $1,250;  and  "Two  Horsemen,"  the  same  dimensions 
as  the  last  named,  $1,000.  Two  canvases  by  Corot,  at  the  same  sale, 
brought  $9,500  and  $3,900  respectively,  while  a  Turner  went  for 
$5,500,  a  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds  for  $600,  and  Lord  Leighton's 
"Nausicaa"  was  sold  for  $5,050. 

J*  A  two  days'  sale  of  old  mezzotint  portraits  collected  by  Sir  Wilfrid 
Lawson,  at  Christie's,  was  quite  the  best  since  the  Blythe  sale  a  few 
years  ago.  The  competition  for  some  of  the  lots  was  very  keen, 
especially  for  the  portraits  of  Mrs.  Davenport  and  Mrs.  Carwardine, 
both  very  fine  impressions  after  Romney.  The  first  was  the  work  of 
J.  Jones  and  the  other  that  of  J.  R.  Smith.  Messrs.  Agnew's  repre- 
sentative outbid  the  opposition  for  the  former,  which  fetched  $3,255, 
and  Mr.  Noseda,  who  was  the  under  bidder  for  the  first,  secured  the 
print  by  Smith  for  $2,255.  Another  Smith  portrait — also  after 
Romney — of  the  Countess  Gower  and  family  brought  $1,312,  the 
buyer  being  Mr.  Colnaghi,  who  also  secured  the  first  published  state 
of  the  whole  length  portrait  of  Lady  Bampfyide,  after  Sir  Joshua 
Reynolds,  for  $1,207. 

^  The  prices  brought  at  a  recent  sale  at  Christie's  in  London  of 
the  Vaile  collection  of  paintings  broke  all   records.      For  a  portrait 


374  BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 

of  Mme.  du  Barry  by  Boucher,  5ii,ooo;  a  Diana  by  the  same  artist, 
515,750;  a  portrait  of  De  Noirmont  by  Sagilliere,  $13,000;  and  a 
picture  of  the  Countess  of  Neuburg  and  her  children  by  the  same 
artist,  $21,750;  a  "Mars  and  Venus"  by  Paul  Veronese,  $49,000;  a 
portrait  of  Mrs.  Blair  by  Romney,  $11,000;  a  portrait  of  Giorgio 
Cornaro  by  Titian,  $23,000.  The  sensation  of  the  sale  was  the  pur- 
chase by  Wertheimer,  the  dealer,  of  a  small,  battered  portrait  of  a 
lady  in  a  white  muslin  dress  by  Gainsborough,  for  $47,000.  It  was 
a  canvas  twenty-five  by  thirty  inches,  the  picture  buried  beneath  many 
coats  of  varnish.  Some  years  ago  the  former  owner  tried  in  vain  to 
sell  it  for  $25. 

J*  The  death  is  announced  at  Seville  of  Jose  Jimenez  of  Aranda, 
whose  paintings  of  court  scenes  under  the  directory  are  well  known  in 
this  country.  He  was  sixty-five  years  old,  and  had  been  for  many 
years  a  professor  at  the  Art  Academy  of  Seville.  Besides  painting 
innumerable  pictures  he  was  an  illustrator  of  note.  At  the  Paris 
exhibition  of  1900  he  received  a  first-class  medal  for  his  illustrations 
for  "Don  Quixote."  He  was  also  the  illustrator  of  Daudet's  "Tar- 
tarin  sur  les  Alpes," 

^  Luc-Olivier  Merson,  Roybet,  Rochegrosse,  Grasset,  Besnard,  and 
Raffaelli  have  made  the  mural  decorations  of  the  new  Musee  Victor 
Hugo.  The  house  is  the  one  at  the  Place  des  Vosges,  where  the 
great  poet  lived.  The  woodwork  on  the  walls  was  by  his  own  hand. 
There  is  also  a  table  inlaid  by  him,  with  inkstands  and  manuscripts 
of  Lamartine,  George  Sand,  Alexandre  Dumas,  and  Hugo. 
J*  The  German  emperor  has  conferred  upon  John  S.  Sargent,  the 
American  painter,  a  large  gold  medal  for  art  in  connection  with  the 
Berlin  art  exhibition.  A  small  gold  medal  was  conferred  upon  Edwin 
A.  Abbey,  the  American  artist. 

^  The  city  authorities  of  Venice  announce  that  the  new  Campanile, 
as  perfect  a  copy  of  the  old  one  as  can  be  built,  will  be  finished  in 
1908.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  last  month  with  appropriate  cere- 
monies, and  the  work  is  now  well  under  way. 

BOOKS    RECEIVED 

"The  Old  China  Book,"  by  N.  Hudson  Moore.  Frederick  A. 
Stokes  Company.     $2.00  net. 

"The  Law  of  Mental  Medicine,"  by  Thomson  Jay  Hudson.  A. 
C.  McClurg  &  Co.     $1.20  net. 

"Representative  Art  of  Our  Time,"  Part  VIII.  Edited  by 
Charles  Holme.     John  Lane.      $1.00. 

"Masters  of  English  Landscape  Painting,"  J.  S.  Cotman,  David 
Cox,  and  Peter  DeWint.  Edited  by  Charles  Holme.  John  Lane. 
$2.00  net. 


ADVERTISING  DEPARTMENT 


TWO  BOOKS  OF  UNUSUAL 
ARTISTIC  INTEREST 

THE  WARD  OF  KING  CANUTE 

By  OTTILIE  A.  LILJENCRANTZ 

The  story  of  Randalin,  the  beautiful 
Danish  maiden  who  served  King  Canute 
disguised  as  a  page,  and  of  her  love  for  a 
noble  Englishman,  all  in  the  brave  old  days 
of  the  Danish  Conquest. 

As  a  piece  of  beautiful  book-making 
nothing  so  striking  has  been  brought  out 
this  year.  The  illustrations  are  reproduced 
in  full  color  from  paintings  in  oil  by  the 
KiNNEYS,  and  the  artistic  value  is  enhanced 
by  initials  and  other  decorations  in  a  style 
appropriate  to  the  period. 

Price,  $1.50 

MISS   OTTILIE    A.    LILJENCRANTZ 


CARTOONS 

By  McCUTCHEON 

Mr.  McCutcheon's  dawings  in  the  Chi 
cago    Record-Herald   have  become  famous   foi 
their  marked  individuality   and    close    under 
standing    of    humanity.       They    have     been 
brought   in   book   form    in    response  to  man^ 
requests — a  step  which  has  proved  quite  justi- 
fiable by  the  extraordinary  sale  that  the  book 
has  had  since  its  publication  on   May  i.     One 
hundred  of  his  best  and  most  popular  cartoons 
are  included  in  the  volume  which  is  beautifully 
printed  and  bound. 

Price,  $1.25  Net 


MK.  JOHN    T.   M   CL'TCHEON 


A.  C.  McCLURG  &  COMPANY,  Publishers 


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Cassell's 
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Series  L:  WILD  FLOWERS 

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Series  III.: 
ENTERTAINING  PICTURES 

"PACH  Sheet  contains  one  or  more  Designs^ 
^     and  a  Set  of  Six  Water-Colors. 

Twelve  Sheets  banded,  price  10  cents. 

The  judgment  and  taste  of  the  children  are  to 
be  exercised  in  the  selection  of  the  most  suitable 
colors  for  the  various  parts  of  the  pictures  given 
in  this  series. 

Each  ol  these  series  can  now  be  obtained,  bound  in 
paper  covers,  price  15  cents  each;  or  the  three  series 
complete  in  One  Volume,  bound  in  cloth,  price  75  cents 

CASSELUS 

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LIBRARY 

THE      CREAM      OF      THE      WORLDS      LITERATURE" 

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The  At/ienauin  says:     "Cassell's    National 
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SPECIAL   SUMMER                          4T(),     WRAPPERS                        NOWREADY 
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jVIasters  of  englisb   Landscape =paintino[ 

This  volume  surveys  pictorially,  by  means  of  profuse  illustrations,  both  coloured  and 
Dlack-and-white,  and  also  textually,  by  means  of  separate  essays,  the  work  of  three 
of  the  most  eminent  and  representative  of  the  English  school  of  landscape  painters 

JOHN  SELL  COTMAN,  DAVID  COX,  and   PETER  DEWINT 

It  would  be  hard  to  find  three  landscape  painters  of  one  period  with  styles  that 
offer  such  marked  and  pleasing  contrasts,  ranking  both  as  water-colourists  and  as 
oil-painters.     Cotman  is  treated  of  by   Lawrence  Binyon,  David  Cox  by  A.  L. 
Baldry,  and  Dewint  by  Walter  Shaw  Sparrow.     The  volume  contains  over  i6o 
black-and-white    cuts,   and   20  full-page   colour   plates.       Order   through    your 
bookseller,  or  from 

JOHN   LANE,          :          67  Fifth  Avenue,          :          NEW  YORK 

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^ 


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A  through  Pullman  Sleeper  is  now  in  daily  service  between  Chicago 
and  Pittsburg  on  the  Lake  Shore  Limited,  affording  Pittsburg 
travel  all  of  the  luxurious  accommodations  of  this  famous  train. 


Leaves  Chicago 
5:30  p.m. 


Arrives  Pittsburg 
6:35  a.m. 


City  Ticket  Office,  180  Clark  Street,  Chicago 


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CLEVELAND 


C.  F.  DALY 

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CHICAGO 


Cool  in   Colorado 


'  SpanlrK  PeaRr.  Colorado. 


Why  not  go  to  Colorado  this  summer? 

Pleasant  Trip  on  the  Santa  Fe. 

Snow-capped  mountains — trout  streams — camping  out. 

Ask  for  free  copy  of   our  profusely  illustrated  bonk,   "A  Colorado  Summer."     It 

tells  ail  about  the  joys  of  a  summer  outing  in  Colorado.     Cheap  rates  in  effect  all 

summer.     Go  via  the  Santa  Fe  and  enjoy  loo-mile  panoramic  view  of  the  Rockies 

—Pueblo  to  Denver.  ^     ,  „         .    , 

For  full  particulars,  address 

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The  Art  Institute  of  Chicago 

SCHOOL  OF  DRAWING,  PAINTING 
ILLUSTRATION,  ARCHITECTURE 
SCULPTURE,   DECORATIVE  DESIGN 


2^th  Year  Opened  September  2g^  ig02*  Students 
may  enter  at  any  time.  Special  Classes  Evenings 
and  Saturdays,  Classes  for  Teachers  and 
Children,    L,ecture  Courses  on  the  History  of  Art 


T^hlP     y4yt     Tfl  KtifUfP    Galleries  containing  extensive  collections  of  painting,  sculpture 

and  of  architectural  objects,  textiles,  vases,  etc.  Examples  of 
ancient,  mediaeval,  renaissance  and  modern  art.  Open  daily  from  9  to  5  o'clock.  The  Art  School 
is  the  most  comprehensive  and  probably  the  largest  in  the  United  States,  numbering  last  year  about 
2,600  students  and  80  instructors.  The  tuition  fee,  covering  all  the  privileges  of  the  school,  is  %"] '^ 
a  year.      For  further  information,  apply  to 

N.  H.  Carpenter, 

Secretary  Art  Institute^  Chicag$ 


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13 


Baby's  rosy,  fat  and  well, 

Mama  can  the  secret 
tell  — 

Minnesota's  summer  breeze 

Sun  and  lake  and  forest  trees, 
Boating,  bathing,  without  measure, 
Give  each  day  the  greatest  pleasure. 


Chicago 
Great 
Western 


Only  $  1 6    ^^^  ^^^  ^^""'^  ^"P  ^° 

•^  '  St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis 

from  Chicago. 

For  complete  information  apply  to 

J.  P.  ELMER,  G.  P.  A.,  Chicago. 


illlHliilSiri 


MssowiPKincmiiwflrfi 

THE  COLORADO   SHORT  LINE. 


COLORADO.UTAHand 
^  pacific  coast  ^ 


FOR   FURTHER    INFORMATION 
ADDRESS  company:^  ACENTS  UOc 


CHICAGO    office:    111    ADAMS    STREET 

BISSELL   WILSON,  T.   4,   P.  Agent 


ELECTRIC- 
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14  BRUSH    AND    PENCIL 


Cbe  cuts  used 
in  the  body  of 
this  magazine 
are  made  by 

O8g00d  Co* 

167  Hdams  Street 
Chicago 

Cbey  Show  Our  Hlork 


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15 


Big  Four  Route 


FROM  CHICAGO 

TO 

Indianapolis,  Cincinnati,  Louisville, 

FLORIDA 

and  all  Points 

South   and    Southeast 


The   Scenic  Line  to  Hot  Springs,  Va., 

AND  Washington,  D.  C, 

via  tiie 

Picturesque 
Chesapeake 
&  Ohio  Ry. 

The  only  line  from  Chicago  connecting  in  Union  Station  at 
Cincinnati  with  trains  of  the  Chesapeake  &  Ohio,  Queen  & 
Crescent,  Louisville  and  Nashville,  Baltimore  &  Ohio  South- 
western Railways. 


W.  J.  LYNCH, 
Gen.  Pass.  &  Tkt.  Agt. 
Cincinnati,  O. 


J.  C.  TUCKER,  G.  N.  A. 

238  Clark  Street, 

Chicago 


,  Chicago   & 

ALTON 

^        RAILWAY 


The  first  dining 
car  in  the  world, 
the"Delmonico" 
was  run  by  the 
Chicago  &  Alton 
in  1868.  Then  the 
"Alton"  was  the 
best  diningr  car 
line  because  it 
was  iheonly  one. 
To-day  it  is  the 
best,  dining  car 
line  because  it  is 


"THE  ONLY  WAY" 

PEOPLE   VOU   MEET    Pictures  of  an  Amer- 

old 


IN  THE  DINING  CAR 


ican  Prince, 
maid,  a  drummer,  a 
pretty  girl,  a  farmer,  and  other  types,  are  con- 
tained in  a  booklet,  which  will  be  sent  for  a 
two-cent  stamp.  Address  Geo.  J.  Charlton, 
Gen.  Pass.  Agt.,  C.  &  A.  Railway,  Chicago,  111., 
who  also  has  on  hand  a  few  Fencing  Girl  calen- 
dars at  25  cents  each. 


''LIFE  IN  THE  NORTHIVEST' 


If  you  have  any  idea  of  changing  your  location — GO  INTO  THE 
NORTH fTESr— where  life  is  worth  living. 

It  is  the  coming  empire  of  this  country.  Climate  and  elevation  are 
found  in  great  variety  and  land  will  never  be  as  low-priced  again  as  it  is 
now.  For  farming,  fruit  raising  and  grazing  no  portion  of  our  country 
equals  it.  Irrigation  makes  the  farmer  independent  where  irrigation  is 
practiced  and  the  finest  irrigable  parts  of  our  country  are  in  Montana 
and  Washington.  The  towns  and  cities  are  all  growing  rapidly  in  the 
Northwest. 

Let  me  know  what  you  want  and  I  will  try  to  help  you.  There 
are  all  sorts  of  places  and  kinds  of  land  in  the  Northwestern  States 
through  which  the  NORTHERN  PACIFIC  runs.  Don't  wait  until  it 
is  too  late  to  go. 

Low  Settlers'  Rates  are  in  effect  during  September  and  October. 
Write  to  me  where  you  want  to  go  and  I  will  tell  you  what  it  will  cost. 

CHAS.  S.  FEE, 

Gef/'/  Pass.  Agent,  Northern  Pacific  Ry.,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 


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i6 


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$62.50 

Chicago  to  California 

and  return 

via  the  Chicago  &  North- Western  Railway,  the  only  double-track 
railway  between  Chicago  and  the.  Missouri   River. 

For  the  meeting  of  the  American   Bankers'  Association  at  San 

Francisco,  October  20-23,  round-trip  tickets  will  be  sold  at  this  rate 

from  Chicago  to  San  Francisco  and  Los  Angeles  October  8-17, 

good   to   return   until   November  30,   1903.      In  addition  to  the 

famous    electric-lighted    Overland    Limited    and    two    other   fast 

daily  transcontinental  trains  via  the  Chicago,  Union  Pacific  and 

North-Western  Line,  the 

Bankers'  Association  Special 

a  superb,  electric-lighted  special  train,  with  buffet  smoking  cars, 

standard  and  compartment  sleeping  cars,  observation  and  library 

cars,  telephone,  barber,  bath,  stenographer  and  lady's  maid, 

will   leave  Chicago  at   7.45  p.  m.  Friday,  October  16, 

arriving    San    Francisco     Monday,    October     19, 

requiring  less  than  three  days  en  route. 

Write  at  once  for  details  and  make  sleeping  car  reservation 
Full  particulars  on  request. 


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C h ar coal    Paper 


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US£D     AND     RECOMMENDED     BY 

Maxfield  Parrish 

AND  Many; OTHERS 


u 


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.i!i>, 


Tiafo  Jfcimpte  jfhfief*f^ lu^i^^^         mailed  to  anjr  addresj 
on  receipt  6/  poj!tct^e,  10  cents 


MITTINEAGUE 

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DEVOE  &  RAYNOLDS  CO. 

i-c^i    C  '  ,        >  ,      '       id  Williams  Sts.,  New  York 


REPAIR 


X/K    FURNISH   AN    EXPERT    WORKMAN   TO    CLEAN-  AND    R: 
1  IHE  STATUARY  WTTHOUT  REMOVING  FROM  PREMISES 


MARBLE,  ONTX  AND  MOSAIC  MORK  OF  ALL  KINDS 
:STIM ATES  ON  APPLICATION  TiMFBdM  SotrrM-697 

.5.,>taic5L   SHERMAN  ej  FLAVIN   Chicago 


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14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

RENEWALS  ONLY— TEL.  NO.  642-3405 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

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ADD   7  Z  fr>i-i 

^•'^i6  69-]]Ai 

t.O/i(M  jDgPX 

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